People on the move in hospitality: June 2021

Sam Monastyrskyj​

Steven Edwards has appointed Sam Monastyrskyj as his head chef at his Bingham Riverhouse restaurant in West London. Monastyrskyj was most recently working as a private chef and joins the team as they develop the food offering. Monastyrskyj’s cooking CV includes Waddesdon Manor and the Five Arrows Hotel as well as a prolonged period as a private chef working in locations including the French and Austrian Alps, the south of France and Mallorca. Edwards met Monastyrskyj briefly whilst the latter was working in the Cotswolds and says he is very happy to have him on the team: “It is a pleasure to appoint Sam as head chef, we share the same food philosophy of creating British dishes, using seasonal produce and herbs to emphasise two main ingredients. I look forward to working together with Sam to push the food forward at the Bingham Riverhouse.”

Ankush Bhasin​

Social media cooking community SORTEDfood has named former Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons development chef Ankush ‘Kush’ Bhasin as head of food. Bhasin will oversee the recipe development for the SORTEDfood Meal Packs App. Over 200,000 meals are cooked every month using the app and the business hopes to more than double its membership by the end of 2021. Bhasin will play a key role in developing the Meal Packs offer, whilst managing a team of chefs to develop recipes for the app, cookbooks, YouTube and other activities that will form part of the business growth.

Adam Boon​

Adam Boon has been named head chef of highly-rated East London restaurant The Laughing Heart. Hackney born and bred, Boon has been part of The Laughing Heart family since the restaurant opened in 2016, and has been sous chef since 2019. His CV also includes time at L’Enclume and Locanda Locatelli. Boon’s promotion sees the launch of a new, £49 four course pre-fixe menu which aims to offer progressive cooking that references ‘iconic cuisines of the great bistros of a bygone era’. Expect pasta on every menu, hors d’oeuvres and petit fours to top and tail your evening, and star dishes like Norfolk Quail Farci which demonstrate a degree of skill and technique without overcomplicating things. “I am extremely proud and excited of the new direction we are taking my restaurant,” says owner Charlie Mellor. “It is the pride of any restaurateur to be able to see creative leaders come from within your team. There is no chef I would rather be working with than Adam.” 

Debbie Hewitt MBE​

The Restaurant Group has announced that chairman Debbie Hewitt MBE will be stepping down from the board from 31 December 2021. She is leaving to take up the role of Chairman of the English Football Association from January 2022, subject to ratification by the FA Council. The board at TRG has commenced a formal process to recruit her successor led by Graham Clemett, senior independent director, and an announcement will be made in due course. Andy Hornby, CEO said Hewitt had been a proactive chairman who built and led a high-quality board and proactively engaged with all stakeholders throughout her tenure.

Dawn Donohoe​

Nightcap has appointed Dawn Donohoe as managing director to lead the growth of its London Cocktail Club (LCC) business, which it acquired earlier this year. She replaces Michelle Hall, who is leaving LCC after six years to pursue other opportunities and is relocating abroad. Donohoe joins from Enhanced Hospitality, a food and entertainment-led business that operates several venues situated in London’s Camden Market including Dingwalls and Shaka Zulu, as well as Blacks private members club in Soho and sister company We Are Bar. Bringing more than 20 years’ hospitality experience, Donohoe’s key focus will be overseeing a growing pipeline of new LCC sites in prime locations both in and outside of its London heartland.

Marcia Genjelian​​

14-strong pub and restaurant operator ETM Group has appointed former Casual Dining Group (now The Big Table) director of marketing Marcia Genjelian as its marketing director. "In what is truly a pivotal time for our industry, I am thrilled to be joining ETM Group and working with the team to build on such a strong foundation of premium bars and restaurants," she says. "Ensuring value is at the forefront of our offer and understanding our guests changing needs is vital to our next chapter of growth. I look forward to developing our guest strategy to meet, and surpass, these needs."

Gustavo Giallonardo​

Gustavo Giallonardo has been appointed head chef at Soho-based Mexican restaurant La Bodega Negra’s when it reopens later this month. Giallonardo began his career in Buenos Aires working in restaurants including La Biblio before travelling to Europe. Following a year in Spain working at Madrid’s La Corte and Barcelona’s Restaurante Druida, he moved to London where he worked at Oriole. Upstairs at La Bodega will reopen on 15 ​June with La Bodega Negra opening a week later on 22 June.

Malin de Silva​

Malin de Silva has taken over the stoves of Sri Lankan restaurant Paradise in London's Soho, replacing Charith Priyadarshana who was appointed head chef when Paradise launched back in 2019. De Silva, who was previously a semi finalist on MasterChef: The Professionals​, has worked as senior chef de partie at the Latymer restaurant in Pennyhill Park, Surrey, and as Marc Wilkinson’s second chef at Fraiche in Oxton. His new menu at Paradise will include a selection of short eats, sharing curries, and hoppers, roti and sambol. New dishes set to feature include mackerel stuffed malu-miris chilli capsicum with lime and curry leaf mayonnaise; cured sea bass with coconut, chilli, lemongrass, lunu-miris and shiso; and grilled, eight-spiced Mangalitza pork belly skewers with southern tamarind and crackling.

Wild Honey St James​

Anthony Demetre’s Wild Honey St James has announced two new appointments to lead the restaurant’s front-of-house team. Stephanie Mattil has taken the role of general manager, and is supported by new assistant general manager, Malcolm Maitland-Walker. German-born Mattil joins Wild Honey from 100 Queen’s Gate Hotel in Kensington, where she spent a year as director of food and beverage. Her CV also includes The Savoy, London, and Fairmont hotels in Bab Al Bahr, Abu Dhabi; and Singapore. Maitland-Walker joins from The Mitre Hotel, Richmond, where he was appointed assistant restaurant manager ahead of its opening in 2020. He previously gained hospitality experience with roles at Le Meridien Hotel Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia; The Royal Garden Hotel; and at various sporting events, including at Chelsea Football Club and Kempton Park Racecourse.