People on the move: June 2023

Raffles London at The OWO​
Soon to launch central London hotels Raffles London at The OWO has named the Naples-born Vincenzo Arnese as its director of wine. He will be responsible for developing the wine programme and training across all restaurants and bars at the Whitehall venue. Opening in late summer, Raffles London at The OWO will feature three restaurants from acclaimed chef Mauro Colagreco and three bars. The hotel will also be home to a further five independent restaurants, led by world-class chefs and restaurateurs including Paper Moon, Café Laperouse and a Japanese-inspired restaurant by Endo Kazutoshi. Vincenzo brings with him over two decades of experience in the hospitality industry working at prestigious hotels and restaurants including Dinner by Heston Blumenthal and Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester. 

Cubitt House​
Upmarket London pub company Cubitt House has appointed Joe Warwick to the newly-created role of head of hospitality. With an extensive background in the hospitality industry, Warwick will be working closely with chef director Ben Tish to improve the guest experience across the group’s portfolio of pubs, as well as helping develop the team’s food and beverage programme. Warwick has worked across the hospitality industry and also written about it for The Guardian, The Times, The Independent, Olive, Metro and Restaurant magazine (he was the editor of the latter between 2002 and 2007). His recent restaurant front of house roles include Soho’s Sola and Bouchon Racine.

Adam Handling Group​
Josh Linfitt has been promoted to bar director of Adam Handling Group. Linfitt will be responsible for overseeing all existing bars in the Group including Eve Bar in London, Ugly Butterfly in Cornwall, and The Loch & the Tyne in Old Windsor and will be fundamental in the set-up of any future bars. Linfitt joined the Group as Bar Manager at Ugly Butterfly when the restaurant and bar in Carbis Bay opened in the summer of 2021. He has been working in the bar industry for over twenty years, beginning his career in the north of England and then moving to Cornwall as bar manager at Fifteen. “Linfitt lives and breathes the Adam Handling Group and he has shown immense determination to further the group’s name in the bar world, showcasing our commitment to zero-waste and utilising techniques from the kitchen behind the bar,” Handling says. 

Brown’s Hotel​
Mayfair’s Brown’s Hotel has appointed a new senior team to lead its main kitchen as well as Trinity chef Adam Byatt’s Charlie’s restaurant. Former executive chef of Gordon Ramsay Group’s The River Restaurant Andrew Sawyer has been appointed as executive chef and former Barrafina and Sabor chef Fernando Montejo Moraga takes on the role of head chef in the main kitchen. Mike Shaw has been appointed as head chef of Charlie’s having worked for Byatt at both Trinity and its sibling Bistro Union. Finally, Mathieu Dias has been appointed head pastry chef for the hotel having previously held the same role at Jason Atherton’s City Social. “I couldn’t be happier or prouder of our new senior team at Browns Hotel,” says Byatt, who holds the role of chef director at the Albemarle Street hotel. “We have a collective understanding and they each bring incredible experience. Together we have high ambition to deliver a truly outstanding culinary experience here in the centre of Mayfair.” 

BM Caterers​
BM Caterers has recruited Mark Kempson, head chef of Michelin-starred Kitchen W8 in London, to support the business in a consultant chef capacity. Kempson, who has been at the helm of the Kensington restaurant for 14 of his 26 years in the industry, will support the foodservice group with training, providing stages at the restaurant to its chefs, cooking for clients and fine dining events, judging competitions, and sharing competition guidance and supplier knowledge. He was introduced to BM by the company’s other consultant chef, Adam Byatt. Before his first head chef role at Kitchen W8, which achieved a Michelin star just one year after opening, Kempson was sous chef with Phil Howard at The Square. 

Nobu Old Park Lane​
Nobu Old Park Lane has promoted Ales Potocnik to the role of general manager. Ales will now lead on all operational aspects of the business, including business performance, development, staff training, reservations and events. Potocnik joined the Nobu family in 2007, after building a diverse career in hospitality in his home country of Slovenia, alongside time in the USA and running restaurants on board Royal Caribbean Cruises. Returning to Slovenia in 2004, he joined the team at Michelin Guide-recommended Sushimama in Ljubljana, where he first discovered a love for Japanese cuisine, and the Nobu brand. In 2007, he made the move to the UK and immediately joined the ranks at Nobu London. Starting as a commis waiter, he progressed quickly to a management position.

Hispi ​
The Gary Usher-led Elite Bistros has appointed Alastair Lambert as the head chef at its Hispi bistro in Didsbury. Lambert started his culinary career in Australia and worked at Chez Bruce in London before moving to Manchester to join the Elite Bistro team at Manchester’s Kala. Under his leadership, Hispi will ‘continue to deliver the accessible but special bistro food that group is known for’ but Lambert will put his stamp on the menu with specials and a regularly -changing lunchtime and early week menu. Example dishes include torched mackerel, bacon jam, pickled radish; chicken ballotine with hazelnut velouté, potato gnocchi and pickled mushroom; and millionaire’s tart with crème fraiche. 

Straits Kitchen​
Pan Pacific London’s flagship restaurant Straits Kitchen has appointed Nick Yung as head chef. An expert in South-East Asian cuisine, Chef Yung has trained and worked in Malaysia before moving to the UK. He has over a decade of experience in Cantonese cooking having worked in a number of top Chinese restaurants including a seven-year stint at Hakkasan. New additions to the menu at City-based venue include hot and sour lobster soup; Berkshire pork belly; umami black cod; and his signature dish Tequila Sarawak Lada Hitam Crab. 

Brett​
Glasgow restaurant Brett has appointed Colin Anderson as chef director. Unusually, Anderson was previously general manager. The chef has held senior roles in Michelin-starred kitchens in London including City Social and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay. He has also worked for some Australia’s most acclaimed places to eat, including Estelle in Melbourne and Quay at the Rocks in Sydney. The menu at Brett - which is part of the Cultar Restaurant Group which also includes the Michelin-starred Cail Bruich - is inspired by the seasons and Anderson’s travels using classic techniques to refine dishes he has experienced ‘from Michelin-starred restaurants to street food’. 

The Barn at Moor Hall​
Kane Williams has been appointed head chef of Mark Birchall’s Michelin-starred restaurant, The Barn at Moor Hall. Williams started his career at Sosban & The Old Butchers in Anglesey, not far from his hometown of Bangor in North Wales. He went on to join Tom Kerridge’s The Hand & Flowers before moving to London to work at The Ledbury. Williams has been part of the kitchen team at Moor Hall since the doors first opened in 2017, joining Moor Hall Restaurant as chef de partie and working his way up to sous chef. After six years under the guidance of Birchall, Williams has now ‘stepped up’ to lead the kitchen at The Barn at Moor Hall. 

PizzaExpress ​
PizzaExpress has appointed Lawrence Harvey as COO. With a CV that includes senior roles at Aldi, Barclays and Tesco, Harvey will lead operations across the group’s 350+ restaurants in the UK and Ireland ‘ensuring the very best service and standards across the companies’ diverse portfolio’. “It’s important we have a strong operational leader to drive service and standards across our estate. Lawrence brings a wealth of experience with a proven-track record engaging teams to deliver results. Leading our operators, he will ensure we’re offering the very best experience for our customers whether they’re dining with us or receiving a delivery,” says PizzaExpress CEO Paula MacKenzie.

Kino​
Leeds restaurant Kino is now being led by MasterChef: The Professionals semi-finalist Josh Whitehead. He is kicking off his tenure as head chef with a series of Test Kitchen dinners which will offer an affordable fixed price menu that features the likes of Roast Thirkleby duck with braised endive and pastry velouté and, with a nod to the venue’s previous incarnation as a cinema, popcorn polenta with grilled mushroom, tempura enoki and grilled onion. Billed as a ‘vibrant’ restaurant and bar, Kino is part of arts organisation Opera North.