10 William Street, Paddington’s playful sort-of-Italian wine bar, will become a little more inventive, a little more Asian and a little more Pinbone. Mike Eggert and Jemma Whiteman, the chef team known for maple bacon and pumpkin tarts, parfait chocolate crackles and other bold combinations, are taking over the kitchen for four months starting in February.

“It’ll be kind of like an artist residency,” Eggert says. “We'll be in charge of the menu and run it in collaboration with the guys from 10 William.” Eggert and Whiteman will be replacing current head chef Luke Burgess (ex-Garagistes), who’s finishing his stint for an extended break. The Pinbone team has been working on and off in the Paddington kitchen, but its new role will give it much more creative freedom. “The guys [owners Enrico and Giovanni Paradiso] want us to come in and do our thing. That's why they approached us.”

The team hasn’t begun experimenting yet, but they’re throwing around ideas to riff off the Asian-Italian fusion they loved under Burgess and previous head chef, Dan Pepperell. “We have a few snack things, like Chinese char siu [bao] pork buns with an Italian filling,” he says. “It’s going to be really fun.”

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Although the menu will certainly be Eggert and Whiteman’s, the duo will be careful to preserve the identity of the venue. “It’s a collaboration, so we're not going to go in and clean the slate. There are some absolute classic dishes that we're not going to mess around with, and anything added will have an Italian twist,” Eggert says.

Pinbone at 10 William Street will begin on February 9 and last for four months.