People on the move: March 2023

Atul Kochhar Restaurant Group

Jatin Parmar has been appointed group operations director for Atul Kochhar Restaurant Group’s UK sites. Following managerial roles in the hotel sector, Parmar (main image) worked in restaurants including Heston Blumenthal’s three Michelin starred The Fat Duck, two Michelin starred Restaurant Sat Bains, Simon Rogan’s three Michelin starred L’Enclume in Cumbria, and the five-star Rockliffe Hall Hotel, Golf & Spa Resort in Darlington, where he worked as food and beverage Manager. Before joining Atul Kochhar Restaurant Group, he was general manager at three Michelin-starred Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in Chelsea.  In his new role, Parmar will oversee operations at all of the Atul Kochhar Restaurant Group, which includes Hawkyns in Amersham; Indian Essence in Kent; Kanishka in Mayfair; Masalchi in Wembley Park; Riwaz in Beaconsfield; Vaasu and Sindhu in Marlow. 

The Fat Duck

Oli Williamson is stepping down as head chef at Heston Blumenthal’s three Michelin starred The Fat Duck in Bray later this month. Williamson, who has also been head chef at the Michelin-starred Clove Club in London, joined The Fat Duck in 2020 as pastry sous chef and was promoted to head chef in January 2022​​. His replacement is yet to be announced.

Straits Kitchen

Former Hakkasan Mayfair chef Nick Yung has joined Straits Kitchen as its new head chef. Yung leads the kitchen at the signature restaurant at Pan Pacific London, and is responsible for the day-to-day running of the south-east Asian-inspired restaurant, including overseeing a team of 20. He will this month launch a new menu with new dishes that will include hot and sour lobster soup; Berkshire pork belly; and umami black cod, as well as his signature dish, ‘tequila sarawak lada hitam crab’, with flaming tequila and a choice of soft shell or wok-fried crab. Yung trained and worked in Malaysia before moving to the UK.

The Samling

Windermere hotel The Samling has announce that sommelier Eric Zwiebel MS has joined as director of wine. Born in Alsace, Zwiebel began his wine career by helping his parents in their restaurant, working as a waiter for two years before his father suggested a move to a three-star Michelin restaurant where Serge Buds, Best Sommelier of the World 1989, was based. In 1997, after five years, he moved to the UK to broaden his wine knowledge of the many different wine regions and to take courses offered by the Court of Master Sommeliers, with Gerard Basset mentoring him. In 2001, he achieved his Master Sommelier qualification and in 2004 as named the Best Sommelier of the UK. His previous roles include overseeing the wine cellars of Hotel du Vin, Cliveden House and Summer Lodge.

Mollie's

Dan Gover has been named as group innovation and development chef at motel and diner brand Mollie’s. Joining from Coppa Club, where he led on the development of core dishes and handled training programmes across the whole of the UK, his previous roles have also included head chef roles at the White Horse Hotel in Romsey, Jamie’s Italian and The Pig in Brockenhurst. In his new role, Gover will work closely with head of food, Kate Brooke-Green, to enhance the F&B offering. Mollie’s currently has locations in Oxfordshire and Bristol and will open its first city centre venue in Manchester later this year.

Galvin at Windows

Antonino Forte has been appointed deputy general manager of 10° Sky Bar and Galvin at Windows at London Hilton on Park Lane. Forte joined Galvin at Windows 11 years ago as assistant head sommelier and has since been promoted to several positions at the London restaurant. He has more than 20 years’ experience in the hospitality industry and has won and been nominated for several awards throughout his career, including Moet Chandon’s Sommelier of the Year competition, Maitre D’ of the Year in Italy, and most recently the Master of Culinary Arts Award.

The Greyhound

The Greyhound in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, has announced three promotions across the business, including a new restaurant manager. Andrius Prelgauskas, who has been with the venue since it opened in 2019, has been promoted from assistant manager to restaurant manager. He has previously worked at Tom Kerridge’s two Michelin-starred The Hand & Flowers  in Marlow as a waiter and worked as a senior waiter alongside The Greyhound owners Daniel Crump and Margriet Vandezande-Crump at the Oxford Blue in Old Windsor. Lauren Gulliford-Brown has also been promoted from senior waiter to head waiter after having been with the business for nearly two years. She was formerly a supervisor at the Three Oaks in Gerrards Cross. In the kitchen, Vitor Miller-Queiroga has been promoted from senior chef de partie to junior sous chef. He previously worked at No 5 Beaconsfield as senior chef de partie.

Roxy Leisure

Ben Warren has returned to hospitality group Roxy Leisure to become its new managing director. Warren was previously operations manager at the company and was most recently managing director at Concept Taverns, a role he held for five years. He will support CEO Matthew Jones in overseeing growth within the company across its Roxy Lanes and Roxy Ball Room sites around the UK. Roxy Leisure plans to grow from 14 sites to 20 in 2023, with a further six sites following in 2024.

Mama Shelter

Mama Shelter London Shoreditch has appointed Alessandro Mansueto as its bar operations manager. Following various operational roles, Mansueto’s  management career began with running the bar for Tonteria Club at the Sloane Square Hotel followed by roles at Clerkenwell & Social, Callooh Callay in Chelsea and most recently assistant general manager at The Residency in Notting Hill. He will oversee the drinks operations for Mama’s bar, restaurant and ethereal Garden Bar in his new role.

Hare & Hounds

Speen-based coaching inn, pub and restaurant Hare & Hounds has hired Chris Connor as its new general manager. Connor has spent the past six years on the leadership team at The Lucky Onion, the boutique hotel and restaurant group centred in The Cotswolds. Previous roles have included group operations manager at Bel & The Dragon. He will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the 17th century venue, which comes under the umbrella of Grosvenor Pubs and Inns, owned by Red Lion Holdings, the pub investment group led by sector entrepreneurs Jason Myers and David Ramsey.

Houston & Hawkes

Independent caterer Houston & Hawkes has strengthened its senior team with seven new appointments. Emilie Whiteoak, previously with BaxterStorey, joins as account director and will oversee a number of the caterer’s key accounts. Marinela Golfita, who joins from Thomas Franks London, and Steven Shaw, have been appointed as operations managers in London and the home counties respectively. Josh Key, sales and marketing manager, has joined from Blue Apple to provide sales and marketing support to the location teams and will help drive the caterer’s B Corp objectives over the coming years. The craft team, working alongside chef director, David Steel, has been strengthened through the promotion of James Garred and Danny Keaney to development chefs, both of whom previously worked as head chefs within the business. Finally, Lindsay Murphy has taken up the newly created role of support manager to focus on training, people development and projects.