Some of the biggest names in the industry including chefs, restaurateurs, hoteliers, and publicans reveal their thoughts on life, career and hospitality.
German-born Heiko Figge was appointed managing director of Guoman Hotels and Thistle Hotels at the beginning of 2010 but his association with the hotel industry and the Thistle brand goes much further back as does his commitment to helping employment...
A leading voice on Chinese food, Fuchsia Dunlop trained at the Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine in Chengdu. The author of several cookbooks, she has been researching regional Chinese food for more than a decade and consults at three restaurants in...
Ruth Rogers opened Italian restaurant the River Café on the north bank of the Thames with friend Rose Gray in 1987. Having initially opened as a staff canteen, the restaurant slowly emerged as one of the standout restaurants in London, earning its Michelin...
One of the UK’s most respected Italian chefs, Giorgio Locatelli is chef patron at Locanda Locatelli in London’s Mayfair and a second restaurant in Dubai. He has featured in three major TV series and has published two books with a third in the works.
Industry veteran Mark Derry has built a reputation running and advising premium casual dining restaurant brands. In 2007 his Loch Fyne Restaurants company was sold to Greene King; now as chief executive of Brasserie Blanc Derry is leading the group in...
The chef and TV presenter runs three seafood restaurants in Cornwall, as well as two fish and chips shops and numerous related ventures. Now based partly in Australia, he talks fish, fights and fair portions.
Alan Murchison took up his first post in the kitchen as a porter at the age of 14. During the 1990s, the Scot worked in a number of Michelin-starred kitchens, including Claridges, Nobu, Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons and L’ortolan. He returned to the...
Portuguese-born Hugo de Castro has worked in the hospitality industry for 40 years, 30 of which have been spent as concierge at the Grand Jersey Hotel & Spa in St Helier. He has seen the hotel change hands four times, most recently in August 2011...
Chef Sriram Aylur embarked on his culinary career in his own father’s restaurant before working his way up to lead the kitchen at the Taj Gateway Hotel in Bangelore. It was there he launched his own Karavali restaurant which was voted one of the top five...
In a week that marks International Women’s Day, there is no one better placed to give her thoughts on life, her career and hospitality than Vivien Sirotkin. With over 30 years experience in the industry, Sirotkin - currently director of hotel operations...
Nick Tamblyn has a strong track record in both the business and operations side of running succesful bars; most recently as chief executive of Kornicis Group, which operates the Smollensky’s and Henry J Beans brands. Tamblyn has also worked for First...
The newly-installed head chef and partner at Quo Vadis in London reflects on his Soho surroundings after 16 years at Bermondsey’s The Blueprint Café, which is owned by D&D London.
Richard Muir has worked in the industry for the past 30 years, starting out as a chef before moving into corporate catering. He was managing director of Sodexo’s UK corporate business and opened restaurants for Gary Rhodes before buying and redeveloping...
The chef-proprietor of Combal Zero in Piemonte, northern Italy – a regular on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list – is a pioneer of conceptual cooking.
