George Barson to leave Kitty Fishers and Cora Pearl
Both the concept and the menus at the two restaurants - in Mayfair and Covent Garden respectively - are understood to be staying broadly the same for the time being.
Barson took over from Tomos Parry (now at Shoreditch’s Brat) at Kitty Fishers in 2017 and opened sister restaurant Cora Pearl in 2018.
Speaking to BigHospitality ahead of the launch of Cora Pearl, Barson said that he was technically the mini group's executive chef, but that he didn't like the title because it made him think of somebody who doesn’t cook much.
"In college, the executive chef was always the guy who turned up in a Porsche Boxster with his name embroidered on his chef’s jacket. I like cooking, that’s why I do the job, so when I got offered the new position I was very keen to make sure I didn’t lose that aspect of it," he said.
Prior to joining Kitty Fishers Barton cooked at restaurants including Nuno Mendes' Viajante, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage and Dinner by Heston Blumenthal.
Owned by Tom Mullion, Tim Steel and Oliver Milburn, both the restaurants take their names from 19th Century courtesans and serve modern British food.
Cora Pearl is currently on Restaurant magazine’s list of the top 100 places to eat in the UK.
Barson is looking to stay in the industry and is in the process of finding his next role.
“I am immensely proud of everything we’ve achieved at Kitty Fisher’s and Cora Pearl and I am very grateful for the opportunity," he says.
"I feel that my personal style as a chef has really developed during this time, and I am looking for a new opportunity that allows me to explore this further.”
