People on the move in hospitality: November 2018

Aiden Byrne​

Aiden Byrne has left his role as chef director at D&D London’s 20 Stories in Manchester to resurrect the city’s Manchester House restaurant.​​ Byrne, who oversaw Manchester House from 2013-17, has the backing of private investors and expects to reopen the dining room to the public in early December. Manchester House closed and entered administration in October, which its owner Living Ventures says followed a period of ‘difficult trading’. “I’m hoping [the restaurant] will once again confirm itself as a staple on the Manchester dining scene, exactly where it belongs,” says Byrne.

Polpo​

Scott Macdonald is believed to have left his role as managing director of Polpo​​ after less than a year and a half in the role. The former Bill’s managing director joined the seven-strong Venetian group last summer. He oversaw a consolidation of Polpo’s estate, including the closure of sites in Bristol, Exeter and its Ape & Bird pub in Cambridge Circus, as well as abandoning a planned launch in Oxford Westgate. It is believed Polpo co-founder Richard Beatty has taken over Macdonald’s responsibilities in the short-term.

Mark Abbott​

Chef Mark Abott has become a business partner​​ in Cambridge restaurant Midsummer House, chef-patron Daniel Clifford has revealed. Abott has been working at the two-Michelin-starred restaurant for the past eight years, having joined as chef de partie in 2010. He was made head chef four years later. Clifford, who told Restaurant​ magazine earlier this year that he was still pushing for a third Michelin star, tweeted that Abbot would help take the restaurant ‘to the new level’.

Mitsuhiro Araki​

It was confirmed this month that the head chef of the UK’s only three-Michelin-starred sushi restaurant, The Araki, will leave to return to his native Japan next year.​​ Mitsuhiro Araki will hand over the reins to his current deputy chef Marty Ryu in March. Araki closed his eponymous three-starred Tokyo restaurant to move to London in 2014, opening the ten-seat sushi bar in Mayfair. The restaurant serves a set sushi tasting menu priced at £310 per person, excluding drinks and service, and won three Michelin stars in the 2018 guide. A spokesperson for the London restaurant confirmed the move will be permanent.

Andrew Scott​

Andrew Scott is to leave his role as executive chef at Sudbury House​​ hotel in Oxfordshire after nearly five years. He will cook his last service on 5 January, before joining Miele GB as development chef. Scott joined Sudbury House in 2014, overseeing Restaurant 56 – which has since won three AA Rosettes. He also appeared on Great British Menu, representing the Central region, in 2016.

Daniel Pearse​

Daniel Pearse is the new executive pastry chef at The Savoy in London. He joins from the same role at Hakkasan Group UK, where he worked for seven years. Originally from Somerset, Pearse joined the Mandarin Oriental London as junior sous chef in 2005, before leaving to join The Langham under Claire Clarke. He rejoined the Mandarin Oriental in 2009 as pastry sous chef, and became head pastry chef at Hakkasan in 2011.  

Daniel Mcgarey​

The Royal Lancaster London hotel has appointed Daniel Mcgarey as executive chef. He brings over 16 years’ experience to the Hyde Park property, having honed his skills at Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley, Galvin at Windows, and the Shangri-La Hotel at The Shard. In his new role he will lead a team of 70 staff, overseeing three restaurants and the hotel's 24-hour in-room dining service.