Handling will be in charge of all food and beverage operations at the hotel, which is owned by the company behind two Michelin-starred Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in Oxford.
He will oversee the main restaurant; the bar and terrace, which will serve lighter food options; as well as the tea lounge, where a “specially crafted tea service” will be available.
Belmond, formerly Orient Express Hotels, is relaunching The Cadogan hotel in Chelsea this winter after a four-year, multimillion pound refurbishment.
The property, originally slated to launch in 2016, has reduced its 64 rooms to 54 ‘chic boutique’ suites in response to demand for larger spaces from luxury travellers.
Handling will continue to run his other London bars and restaurants, which comprise The Frog E1 in Shoreditch; Frog by Adam Handling in Covent Garden; Eve bar, located below the Covent Garden restaurant; and Bean and Wheat, Handling’s zero-waste café in Liverpool Street.
“I’m so excited to be partnering with Belmond Cadogan Hotel to bring an outstanding selection of dining options for visitors and guests of the hotel,” says Handling.
“Belmond has an incredible worldwide reputation and the building itself has an amazing history - I’m really looking forward to bringing the hotel into a new, modern chapter and putting my stamp on the menus. Being part of this launch is one of the highlights of my career.”
The Scottish-born chef opened his first independent restaurant, The Frog E1, in Shoreditch in 2016, followed by his flagship, Frog by Adam Handling, which launched in Covent Garden in September of the following year.
Handling’s restaurants have won awards including the Food & Travel Reader Awards Best Restaurant of the Year in 2017 and Best Fine Dining Restaurant in the Foodism100 Awards 2018.