People on the move: August 2024

Story Cellar 

Tom Sellers has appointed Robert Homer (main picture) as head chef of his Covent Garden restaurant Story Cellar. Originally from East London, Homer’s cooking CV includes Brown’s Hotel in Mayfair, Canvas Restaurant, The Hourglass pub and Sellers’ own Dovetale restaurant. “Appointing Robert as head chef is an exciting moment for Story Cellar,” Sellers says. “I have been working alongside him at Dovetale for the past 18 months - he is a great chef and I’m confident he will be brilliant at leading the kitchen at Story Cellar.” The sister restaurant to Sellers two Michelin-starred Bermondsey flagship Story, Story Cellar is inspired by the rotisserie restaurants of Paris and serves classic dishes with a focus on premium rotisserie chicken and accompanied by a list of top wines. 

The Tartan Fox

Andrew Tuck has been named senior sous chef at Adam Handling’s recently launched Cornwall pub The Tartan Fox. The Cornwall-born chef is billed as a rising star on the British food scene having competed on Great British Menu in 2023 and 2024. Having trained under Cornwall-based chefs Ben Quinn and Simon Stallard, Tuck is focused on creative fire and smoking methods and Cornish local ingredient sourcing. 

Louis

Ahead of its opening next month, Permanently Unique Group’s latest Manchester restaurant, Louis, has appointed Matteo D’Elia as head chef. Working alongside executive chef Ippokratis Anagnostelis, D’Elia will be drawing on his Italian heritage to develop Louis’ menu, which will be inspired by New York's Italian-American restaurants​​. D’Elia has more than 13 years of experience working in Michelin-starred kitchens across the UK and internationally, notably featuring stints at Galvin at Windows and Bibendum under Claude Bosi. Most recently he led the kitchen at Il Gattopardo in London’s Mayfair. “I am thrilled to join [Permanently Unique] at such a pivotal moment,” he says. “The opening of Louis will introduce a unique experience to Manchester. Italian-American cuisine is especially exciting, as it evokes fond memories of my upbringing in Rome. Having crafted similar menus before, I am eager to explore, experiment, and create something extraordinary with the team.”

The Wolseley Hospitality Group

Following the departure of David Stevens​​, who left to take on a senior role with former employer Jeremy King, The Wolseley Hospitality Group has appointed Charles Hilton as its new group executive chef. Hilton, who has worked in kitchens for more than 30 years and spent the past eight as head chef at the group’s Brasserie Zedel restaurant in London’s Piccadilly, will now oversee operations across the group’s estate, which also encompass The Wolseley, The Delaunay, Manzi’s, Colbert, Soutine, Fischer’s and Bellanger. “I’m excited to be working across our nine restaurants and will be focusing my efforts on our younger generation of chefs as well as developing our menus,” says Hilton.

The Chancery Rosewood

The Chancery Rosewood, the luxury hotel and leisure redevelopment of the former US Embassy building in London’s Mayfair, has named Jake Leslie as its director of food and beverage (F&B) ahead of its launch next year. In his new role at The Chancery Rosewood, Jake will lead the hotel’s F&B division, which will feature a ‘carefully curated’ selection of dining options including a new iteration of Richard Caring’s Le Caprice and the first London outpost of high-profile New York restaurant Carbone​​. Prior to joining The Chancery Rosewood, Leslie was the director of F&B at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, overseeing an operation exceeding $400m of bars, fine dining and casual restaurants, with partners including Nobu, Gordon Ramsay and Giada De Laurentiis. Before that he was director of restaurants at The Bellagio Hotel & Casino where he oversaw 20 dining outlets, three of which held Michelin stars.

The Victoria Oxshott

Surrey Hills gastropub The Victoria Oxshott has appointed Daniel Lee as its new executive chef. With a CV that includes Warbrook House and Pennyhill Park, Lee has already introduced a new bar menu that offers ‘elevated British classics that pay homage to traditional flavours while embracing a contemporary twist’ including home-smoked sea trout crumpet with crème fraiche and dill; and pork, honey and mustard sausage roll with smoked ketchup. Launched in 2021, the pub was awarded One to Watch by Top 50 Gastropubs in 2023.

The Doyle Collection

Irish-owned international hotel group The Doyle Collection has appointed Soham Sonawane as the executive chef of its The Bloomsbury Hotel in central London. Sonawane is an experienced hotel chef having worked at a string of prestigious businesses including The Dorchester Collection, The Lanesborough and the Hotel Café Royal. The Bloomsbury’s F&B offering includes The Coral Room, Dalloway Terrace and Bloomsbury Club Bar. The Doyle Collection operates three hotels in central London alongside The Bristol in Bristol, The Dupont Circle in Washington DC and a further three hotels in the Republic of Ireland.        

Searcys 

Contract caterer and restaurant operator Searcys has employed Thomas Piat as its new executive chef for restaurants. Piat attended the Ecole Hôtelière de Paris in 2005 and has spent the past two decades working for top chefs including Hélène Darroze and Daniel Boulud. Prior to joining Searcys, he spent three years across the pond in Florida, working as a private chef in Miami before becoming the executive chef of Palm Beach members club Carriage House. Piat will work across Searcys’ collection of nine restaurants and bars and take lead on the menu concepts for Searcys upcoming openings, including Battersea Champagne Bar, which launches at the end of October.

The Boathouse Cafe

Guildford’s riverside restaurant The Boathouse Cafe has appointed Rafal Milarski as its new head chef. He joins the restaurant having previously held similar roles at The Harbour Hotel in Guildford and The Drummond at Albury. The restaurant’s focus on seasonal British cuisine is at the heart of Milarski’s new summer menu, which includes dishes of cod schnitzel; poke bowls; primavera tagliatelle; and Surrey Hills ribeye steak. “Rafal’s impressive background and shared vision for seasonal British food makes him an exciting culinary leader to take our independent, destination restaurant into the next chapter,” says Jessica Meins, The Boathouse Cafe’s creative director.