Alyn Williams and Nathan Eades set for The Wild Rabbit [updated]

Eades will leave his role as head chef at Michelin-starred Simpsons in Birmingham in December to head up the kitchen at the pub, while Williams will take on the role of chef-patron in May next year,

Their appointment comes after the departure of chef Tim Allen earlier this year ​​following a two-year stint which saw the pub win a star in the 2017 Michelin Guide.

Writing on Twitter Eades thanked Simpsons' owner Andreas Antona and chef director Luke Tipping for their ‘first class’ support.

“Throughout my time there, they have developed me as a person and as a cook,” said Eades. “I’ll forever be indebted to both of them for the rest of my career.

“It’s been a difficult decision to leave one of the best restaurants in the country, but this project at The Wild Rabitt is something that makes me excited. Together, I hope we can create something incredible!”

The Wild Rabbit was opened by Daylesford Organic founder Lady Carole Bamford in 2013 and was named Michelin Pub of the Year in 2015. ​​It had held a Michlin star, but it lost the accolade​​ in the 2018 edition.

Williams will remain chef-patron at his eponymous Michelin-starred restaurant at The Westbury hotel in Mayfair, but will join The Wild Rabbit full time from May next year. The London restaurant will continue to bear his name, with Williams installing a team to oversee the day to day operation. He says he still expects to cook there one or two days a week.

"It will still be my food [at The Westbury], as it is now," he says.

Williams will be in the kitchen alongside Eades at The Wild Rabbit as from May and will be involved in the food "but in a wider role". "I will be overseeing any kind of amendments to The Wild Rabbit and will be involved in the Daylesford business as well," he says. "There are some really nice opportunities for the future, they have so many ideas."

Williams admits he is yet to speak properly with Eades about the culinary approach they will take in the new year but says the cooking is likely to be ambitious, in keeping with their individual cooking styles. "It will still be super ambitious. There is a restaurant and a bar [at The Wild Rabbit] and there is likely to be some distinction between the two. We will probably serve more pub style food in the bar and do something a bit more in our own personal styles in the restaurant."