Racine founder sells up to concentrate on role with Nick Jones
Henry Harris, Chef and joint co-owner of Racine in Knightsbridge, has sold his share of the business to Eric Garnier, with whom he set up the business five years ago.
Harris has now joined Nick Jones' Soho House Group as Chef Director where he will oversee changes to existing operations as well as the company's expanding group of brasseries and bars. He has been consulting on the High Road Brasserie in Chiswick and The Electric in Notting Hill for the past 18 months and said, "I'd achieved everything I could with Racine and realised how much I enjoyed working with Soho House."
One of his first jobs will be to change the menus at the brasseries in line with the seasons and to "make sure the customers are getting what they want to eat, not what the chefs want to cook. At some of the outlets, people haven't really rated the food so I want to put that right".
Harris will also be spending time in the States, at Soho House where Chris Handley, who worked with Harris for five years as Head Chef of Racine before leaving to go to the newly opened Côte in Wimbledon, has taken over as Head Chef from Elliot Ketley.
The Soho House Group is currently made up of Soho House in London and New York, Shoreditch House, The Electric in Notting Hill, High Road House in Chiswick, Boheme Kitchen & Bar in Soho and Babington House in Somerset. Jones has recently bought a new site on Soho's Dean Street, which will open in spring 2008, with Harris overseeing the food and drink operation.