Announcing the move in a social media post, the head chef of Portland in Fitzrovia said the time had come to leave, having spent four ‘incredible’ years working with Woodhead’s founders Will Lander and Daniel Morgenthau.
‘With Will and Dan I achieved things I never dreamt possible,” he wrote, adding it was an ‘enormous pleasure’ to have worked at Woodhead.
Labron-Johnson returned to London to open Portland in 2015 at the age of 23, having spent the past six years working in restaurants in Switzerland, France and Belgium.
The restaurant won a Michelin star in the 2016 edition of the red book.
He says he is looking to launch a restaurant next year and is in talks about a number of different projects, but with nothing yet confirmed. He will continue to work with The Conduit in London, the members club for people interested in social enterprise, and with charity Help Refugees.
Lander describes the move as a “great shame” and says the process of finding a replacement has been very gradual.
Zach Elliott, the former sous at Portland, is now the restaurant’s head chef and has been running the kitchen for the past few months, with his own menu already fully in situ.