Michael Yates appointed executive chef of NoMad London

He replaces Ashley Abodeely, who has been executive chef at the US-owned Bow Street venue since it launched in 2021. ​​

Originally from Lancashire, Yates worked for a number of top UK restaurants including Blackburn’s Northcote and Edinburgh’s Martin Wishart before working at even more vaunted oversees restaurants including Netherlands three-star Oud Sluis. 

In 2016, he struck out on his own in Antwerp, Belgium, with Sail and Anchor, a 24-seat restaurant that ‘showcased his love and dedication to quality, locally sourced ingredients’.

The restaurant closed last year to allow the chef to ‘take the next step in his career with NoMad London’. 

Yates will oversee the whole culinary programme at NoMad London, including its main dining room NoMad Restaurant, Library, the Mexican-inspired Side Hustle, and the hotel’s more recently launched cocktail bar Common Decency. 

“My cooking style is very timeless, minimal, eclectic, and locally focused, all of which resonate with the NoMad brand and team,” he says. “The lifestyle here is a perfect fit for my culinary ethos and my style.” 

The chef’s first project will be to overhaul the menu at the hotel's main dining space NoMad Restaurant. There will be more a focus on live-fire cooking as well as a new Sunday roast offering. 

“This is a homecoming story for me. I’ve not worked in London before, however I’m a British chef and I’m excited to bring my farm to table approach to the city” he continues.

“One of the strongholds of the NoMad is the young talent in the kitchen, all eager to hone their skills and looking to grow - not so different from me when I was young and hungry to learn. I’m looking forward to helping them while we bring NoMad London’s culinary offerings to a new level.”  

Chris Perone, general manager at NoMad, added: “We have long since admired Michael’s work from afar and have had the great pleasure of dining in his restaurant and experiencing his unique culinary approach first-hand over the years.”

“His homecoming is poignant not only in the sense that he is returning to his motherland, but that he is coming home to a brand with which his personal ethos and culinary style is so harmoniously compatible. Along with his exceptional talent, drive, and skill, we cannot wait for this synergy to sing across all of our NoMad London dining venues.”

Founded in New York in 2012, the NoMad hotel group has launched a number of further hotels in the US and Europe.

Its original site in New York closed permanently in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.