People on the move: October 2024

Midsummer House

Liam Anderson has returned to Daniel Clifford’s two Michelin-starred restaurant Midsummer House to take on the role of chef de cuisine. Anderson originally joined the Cambridge-based restaurant in 2016 working his way up to the position of senior sous chef before leaving in 2021 to work at restaurants including Moor Hall, Chapter One and The French Laundry. Anderson takes over from Mark Abbot, who left Midsummer House in August have been at the restaurant for 14 years.

Sète

Margate restaurant Sète has made two new appointments to its senior team. Andy Lowe has replaced Billy Stock as head chef having worked in a number of restaurants in Kent and Cornwall, most recently at The Seafood Bar in Falmouth. Joining him at the restaurant is Amy Meakock, who is its new general manager, following stints at London restaurants St John Bread and Wine, Bao, and Flor. “I’m so excited to have Amy and Andy in the building,” says Sète owner Natalia Ribbe. “They both bring such great experience to the project, and I’m looking forward to seeing how we can continue to grow Sète as it approaches its second birthday.”

ROVI

Fitzrovia restaurant ROVU has promoted sous chef Andy Frantzeskos to the role of head chef. Frantzeskos previously held roles at ROVI’s sister restaurant NOPI in Soho from 2019 before moving to ROVI in 2022. He takes over from Neil Campbell, who has been promoted to executive chef across the portfolio of Ottolenghi restaurants, including ROVI, NOPI and its new restaurant in Geneva due to launching in early 2025 in partnership with Mandarin Oriental. Frantzeskos will be responsible for managing the restaurant day-to-day, developing the menu and establishing partnerships with food producers and building on the team’s work with ROVI’s Wolves Lane urban garden, based in Haringey, north London, that currently grows and supplies some of ROVI’s vegetables.

St Pancras Bar and Brasserie

Thomas Pait has taken the helm at St Pancras Bar & Brasserie, creating a new menu that pays tribute to the classic French brasserie. Pait trained at the École Hôtelière de Paris and gained experience at Michelin-starred establishments such as Jòia with Hélène Darroze.

Sticks ‘n’ Sushi

Danish-Japanese restaurant group Sticks ‘n’ Sushi has appointed Kushal Banerjee as its new chief financial officer. Banerjee was previously finance director at Azzurri Group, where he spent five years. He will lead the finance teams across the Sticks ‘n’ Sushi business in Copenhagen, Berlin and London.

Azzurra

Italian seafood restaurant Azzurra has appointed Alessandro Bay as its new executive chef. Hailing from Genoa, Italy, Bay has more than 28 years’ experience in kitchens, from working across Italy and in some of London’s best five-star hotels. His journey in hospitality started in 1995, when he graduated from the Nino Bergese Catering School of Genoa while working as a cook during his military service. After spending a few years working in his hometown Genoa and then Rome, he moved permanently to London in 2000, where he worked for Sheraton Park Tower Hotel and the Crowne Plaza London City Hotel, before making his way up to head chef and consultant at Italian restaurant Locanda Locatelli, where he spent more than 10 years working alongside its chef-patron Giorgio Locatelli. During his time at the restaurant, Locanda Locatelli gained a Michelin star, which has been retained ever since.

Ekstedt at The Yard

Scandinavian open-fire restaurant Ekstedt at The Yard has promoted Luca Mastrantoni to the role of head chef. Italy-born Mastrantoni joined the Westminster restaurant as junior sous chef in 2022 an progressed to sous chef in 2023. His previous roles include chef de partie at Farringdon’s The Drunken Butler. “I’m delighted to take on this new role and oversee our talented kitchen team at Ekstedt at The Yard,” he says. “Niklas [Ekstedt] is a real inspiration and fire has always been an element that’s drawn me to the kitchen, so I’m really excited that I can pursue this passion in the heart of London - bringing the theatre of open flame dining to guests.”

Orelle

D&D London has promoted long-time employee Kiran Suvarna to the role of executive chef at its Birmingham-based restaurant Orelle. Suvarna has more than 21 years experience in the hospitality industry and has previously run the kitchens at the group’s German Gymnasium, Klosterhaus, Skylon and Le Pont de la Tour venues. Born in Mumbai, he worked with brands such as Taj, Hyatt, Hilton before joining the D&D stable as chef de partie at Le pont de la Tour. He later moved to Singapore and cooked alongside Jason Atherton in restaurant Pollen and Esquina and ran luxury hotel Oasia Downtown as its head chef before moving back to Mumbai in 2019 to explore native Indian cuisine. It was there where he was appointed the youngest executive chef at Le Meridien, Marriott International. He returned to London in 2022 and ran the kitchens at German Gymnasium in King’s Cross, Klosterhaus in Bristol, and Skylon in Waterloo before coming full circle back to Le Pont de la Tour.

Three Daggers

Toby Sharpe has been appointed executive chef at the Three Daggers in Edington. Sharpe has previously worked for Michelin-starred pub The Masons Arms in Exmoor, Devon, The Abbey Restaurant in Penzance, and most recently he spent more than 10 years as head chef for Coutts Bank with BaxterStorey. He will be working closely with Arek Adamczak, head of growing at Three Daggers, and will oversee a seasonal menu of modern British pub classics alongside launching a new menu of café specials served at Three Daggers Farm Shop.

Wingstop

Fast-growing chicken brand Wingstop UK has announced the appointment of Adrian Saunders as head of acquisitions. Saunders joins the group, which was named by The Sunday Times​ as the fastest growing restaurant group in the UK for the second year running back in June, having previously sourced, and acquired approximately 90 restaurants for The Restaurant Group. His work included bringing Frankie & Benny’s and Chiquito to Northern Ireland and securing the first restaurant in New York City at 210 Fifth Avenue for Wagamama. “I am excited to join Wingstop UK at such a pivotal time in the brand’s journey,” says Saunders. “The momentum Wingstop has built across the UK is phenomenal, and I look forward to applying my experience in driving growth and securing prime locations to take the brand to the next level.” Wingstop is on track to open 18 new locations in 2024, with a secured pipeline for 2025, and plans to exceed this figure next year.

Rick Stein Restaurants

Rick Stein Restaurants has named Jason Wass as its new head of food. Wass oversees all aspects of menu development across all 10 Rick Stein Restaurants, working alongside chef director Jack Stein to. He is responsible for sourcing the ingredients, integrating innovative culinary techniques to enhance the existing offering, as well as developing new ranges for Rick Stein’s nationwide online fishmongers. Wass’ CV includes time at Gordon Ramsay Group as senior sous chef, at Russell Norman’s Polpo as group executive chef and most recently operations director at Upmarket Leisure. “I’m very excited that Jason is joining the team and will be responsible for overseeing all food, alongside chef director Jack,” says Rick Stein. “From the moment Jason and I first started talking, he’s shown he really understands the most important point of food in any restaurant which is balance between excitement, taste and creativity in dishes. It’s especially exciting to have Jason on board as we enter 2025 and prepare to celebrate our 50th anniversary.”

Me:Mo

Drake & Morgan director Graham Hall has joined hospitality communications agency Me:Mo as non-executive director. In his new appointment, Hall, who has more than 20 years of hospitality experience, will work closely with Me:Mo’s leadership team to help drive the agency’s next phase of growth, leveraging his experience in both the UK and international markets. His previous roles include serving as managing director at CAU for Gaucho Restaurant Group across the UK and Holland; leading the in-house restaurant division at Ennismore; and key positions at All Star Lanes and Living Ventures’ The Living Room brand. “This is an exciting opportunity for me to contribute to an innovative and integrated agency that’s leading in the hospitality space,” says Hall, who will continue in his role as director at Drake & Morgan. “I look forward to supporting their expansion efforts both domestically and abroad.”

ETM Group

Former Ottolenghi COO Michael Farquhar has joined ETM Group as its chief operating officer. Farquhar held the role of operations director at D&D London during his six and a half years at the restaurant group and is also founder and managing director at hospitality consultancy Solid Koncepts. “I’m grateful for the warm welcome from the entire team and look forward to making a meaningful impact together as we continue to deliver outstanding experiences across our venues,” he says.