Having joined the Savoy in March 2010 as chef de cuisine, Murphy oversaw the relaunch of the River Restaurant following the London hotel’s £220m refurbishment, introducing lunch and dinner menus to the venue that previously only served breakfast and brunch.
Now the Swedish chef, formerly executive chef of Ronnums Herrgard in Vanersborg, is keen to leave his head chef position at the five-star Mayfair hotel and move on to a kitchen in the British countryside, although he is yet to find a position to move into.
He told BigHospitality: “The reason why I’m leaving is that I want to get more in touch with the produce, and in London I don’t feel so close to them. I also want to push more onto gaining Michelin stars again like I was in Sweden.
“Right now nothing’s set in stone. I have a few things lined up but I’m not exactly sure which to take.
“There’s one in Devon I’m looking at where they want to put themselves on the gastronomic map, and another in Stratford, which the new owners have put a lot of money into and is opening up in October.”
New venture
Murphy, who has delivered a modern French menu at the River Restaurant, will focus more on reworked classic British dishes that highlight regional produce at his next venue.
“I don’t see a line between modern British and French cuisine really, so the cuisine I’d do would be classic British like fish and chips, but modernised and more gastronomic.”
The Savoy is yet to find a replacement for Murphy, who is keen for one of the River Restaurant sous chefs to fill his shoes.