People on the move in hospitality: April 2018

Mini Patel​

Mini Patel has been named as the new chef patron at D&D London’s Blueprint Café on the South Bank. The chef, who left The Pointer in Brill in Buckinghamshire in 2017 after two and a half years, has overhauled the menu to focus on small plates with a “playful, contemporary twist”. Patel also cooked under Angela Hartnett at her Michelin-starred restaurant at The Connaught, and represented the North East on Great British Menu in 2015 and 2016.

Martin Cahill​

Martin Cahill has joined the Rosewood London hotel as executive chef. It follows the departure of Amandine Chaignot, who stepped down from the post in January after three years. The move marks a return to the UK for Cahill, who joins from DUKES Hotel in Dubai. In his new position he will oversee Rosewood’s The Mirror Room restaurant and Scarfes Bar. Calum Franklin remains executive chef at Holborn Dining Room and the Pie Room, which are also situated in the hotel.

Ruth Leigh​

Ruth Leigh has been appointed general manager at Henry Harris’ The Coach gastropub in Clerkenwell, London. She began her career in London as assistant general manager at Le Café Anglais, before moving to Hong Kong to manage the restaurant at The Continental. Leigh returned to London in 2016 to work at Stevie Parle and Tom Dixon’s Dock Kitchen, where she grew the customer and events base. Leigh, who is the daughter of chef Rowley Leigh, has known Harris for years.  “Both Henry and I are looking forward to this new chapter at The Coach, and I’m just excited to get started,” she says.

Tom Barnes​

Tom Barnes has returned to Simon Rogan’s restaurant business as chef patron at Rogan & Co in Cartmel, Cumbria. Born and raised in the Lake District, Barnes began at L’Enclume as a chef de partie in 2011 and worked his way up to become head chef in spring 2014. He held the position for over three years, taking charge of day to day running of the kitchen and working alongside Rogan with the menu development and team training. He returns to Cumbria after spending a year at three-starred Restaurant Geranium in Copenhagen.

Jon Hendry Pickup​

Prezzo CEO Jon Hendry Pickup is to step down after the group’s creditors approved a CVA to close 94 restaurants – a third of its estate. He will be replaced by Café Rouge co-founder Karen Jones, who is also chairman of Hawksmoor and Mowgli. Hendry Pickup, who joined Prezzo in 2016, will remain at the company through a transition period in April and May. The CVA comes after like-for-like sales at Prezzo fell 8.1% in the year to December 2017, with the chain blaming rising costs and competition from other chains. Since the CVA Hendry Pickup launched a transformation plan that has seen top-performing sites rebranded with an improved layout.

Craig Johnston​

Craig Johnston, the 2017 MasterChef: The Professionals champion, has joined judge Marcus Wareing’s restaurant Marcus at The Berkeley Hotel as senior chef de partie. Johnston was just 21-year-old when he triumphed in the BBC show, becoming the youngest ever winner in its ten series. He left his role as sous chef at The Royal Oak gastropub in Maidenhead earlier this month to take up the position at the two-Michelin-starred kitchen.

Gordon Ramsay Group​

Petrus head chef Larry Jayasekara has become the latest member of staff to depart the Gordon Ramsay Group (GRG). Jayasekara joined the restaurant as senior sous chef in 2015 and went on to win National Chef of the Year 2016. Speaking to BigHospitality​ in 2015 he said his “ultimate goal” was to win a Michelin star, either at GRG or his own restaurant. GRG chief executive Stuart Gillies is believed to have left his role earlier this year after filings show his position as director was terminated in February, with managing director Andy Wenlock tipped to have taken his place. Simon King, formerly of Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group, has also stepped down as director of operations.

Stuart Geddes​

Stuart Geddes has been promoted to general manager of London’s The Goring Hotel. Geddes first joined The Goring in 2006 after several years at The Ritz, and in 2013 the hotel was granted a Royal Warrant of appointment to HM The Queen for Hospitality Services. He now oversees the hotel’s 69 rooms and suites, bar and lounge and its restaurant The Dining Room, which won a Michelin star in 2016.

Daniel Lee​

Daniel Lee has been appointed head chef at the Galvin brothers’ Galvin Green Man pub and restaurant near Chelmsford, Essex. Lee previously cooked with Jeff Galvin for three years at Michelin-starred Galvin La Chapelle in London, and will be working closely with Jeff’s brother, Chris Galvin, at the Green Man. “I’m really looking forward to working with the Galvins again and delighting our customers with outstanding food far beyond the normal gastro-pub fare,” says Lee. Since opening in 2016 Galvin Green Man has been awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand and 2 AA Rosettes.