Number Eight restaurant’s Guest Chef Series will continue this autumn with a two-part collaboration between owner-chef Stuart Gillies and twice Michelin-starred chef Atul Kochhar. The longstanding friends will cook together twice across Kent, creating a different six-course tasting menu for each evening, with three dishes contributed by each chef.

The collaboration will begin on Wednesday 21 October, when Gillies cooks alongside Kochhar at Essence at The Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells. The chefs will reunite on Wednesday 18 November, when Kochhar joins Gillies at Number Eight in Sevenoaks.

Kochhar’s cooking draws on the regional flavours and culinary traditions of his native India, interpreted through contemporary techniques and British ingredients, while Gillies is known for accomplished modern European cooking grounded in seasonality and classical technique.

The first dinner, at Essence at The Pantiles, will open with snacks of quail egg and spinach tarts, crispy polenta with walnut ketchup and venison tartare croustades. The menu will continue with Tangra chengri maachh, pairing tempura prawns with a sweet, sour and spicy chutney; gin-cured sea trout with fennel, grapefruit, chilli and puffed rice; and khasta murg, a chicken tikka pie served with berry chutney. Lamb shoulder shank nihari will be accompanied by pulao, khamira naan, ghee-roasted potatoes, lasooni spinach and achari pumpkin. An apple and walnut financier with bay leaf custard will complete the menu, followed by petits fours.

Stuart Gillies said: “Atul and I have known one another for many years, and I have enormous respect for both his cooking and the role he has played in changing perceptions of Indian cuisine in Britain.

“The Guest Chef Series has always been about friendship as much as food, so it felt fitting to make this a genuine exchange: first in Atul’s kitchen and then in ours. We cook from different starting points but share the same respect for ingredients, technique and generous hospitality.

“Creating a different menu for each dinner will also give us the freedom to explore new ideas and offer guests two distinct experiences, while cooking in our own voices and creating something that feels completely joined up.”

Atul Kochhar added: “Stuart is a wonderful chef and a longstanding friend, and I am delighted that we are bringing this collaboration to both Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks.

“The most enjoyable collaborations are a conversation between chefs. Stuart and I have different culinary influences, but our approaches to flavour, produce and hospitality are closely aligned. I am looking forward to seeing our dishes sit alongside one another and to creating two very special evenings for our guests.”

Kochhar became the first Indian chef to be awarded a Michelin star in 2001 while leading the kitchen at Tamarind in London. He later earned a second Michelin star at Benares and has since built a collection of restaurants across the UK, including Essence at The Pantiles, where traditional pan-Indian dishes are presented with a contemporary British touch.

Gillies’ career has spanned more than three decades and includes senior roles at Le Caprice, The Connaught, Boxwood Café and the Gordon Ramsay Group. He opened Number Eight with his wife, Cecilia, in 2022, creating an independent restaurant and bar centred on modern European cooking and relaxed hospitality.

The collaboration forms part of Number Eight’s continuing Guest Chef Series, which has previously welcomed Tom Anglesea of Dovetale, Erion Karaj of The Groucho Club, and Tim Hughes and Tom Fraser of Scott’s Richmond and Kevin Gratton of Café Royal Grill.

The Four Hands Dinner at Essence at The Pantiles takes place on Wednesday 21 October 2026. The six-course menu is priced at £76.95 per person, with an optional wine pairing available for £49.95 per person. The return dinner takes place at Number Eight, Sevenoaks, on Wednesday 18 November 2026. A different six-course tasting menu will be created for the Sevenoaks event, with the full menu, price and booking details due to be announced in the coming weeks.