chef news

By Noella Pio Kivlehan

THE management of London's £100m Chelsea Village development has angrily denied claims that some of its restaurants are empty.

Sources state that two of the four restaurants within the complex, the 90-seat Irish-themed eaterie Arkle's and the 90-seat seafood establishment Fishnets, are failing to attract more than a handful of customers a night. In the case of Fishnets, it is claimed that about eight guests have been eating in the evening, and some nights the restaurant is empty.

But Edward Murray, executive director and general manager of the Chelsea Village hotel which, along with the restaurants, opened last March, said: "The covers will come, is our view, and we are not panicking or adopting crisis management. We are not in this for the short term."

Although Murray refused to reveal figures of nightly covers, he said that the venue's restaurants, which also include The Shed sports bar and King's Brasserie, were achieving the level of turnover to be expected from a new establishment.

However, Simon Bradley, who was head chef at Fishnets, has left after only nine months to take over in the same role at London restaurant Odette's. A sous chef and chef de partie from Fishnets are set to join him at his new establishment.

Bradley would only say he was looking forward to getting back into "frontline cooking" at Odette's and "cooking with meat again".

A SECOND Night of Good Food to raise funds for charity is to be held at the Royal Bath hotel, Bournemouth, on 14 September. The successful first night, in February, raised £9,500 for a multiple sclerosis charity.

The same chefs will be preparing another four-course, £30-a-head meal. They are: David Boland of Bournemouth & Poole College; David Ryan of Bistro on the Beach, Bournemouth; Pierre Chevillard, of Chewton Glen hotel, New Milton; and Peter Leyland-Jones from the Royal Bath hotel.

The organisers hope to raise £10,000 to buy a bus for the Variety Club of Great Britain. For further information call the Royal Bath hotel on 01202 555555.

Team UK, the brigade of chefs from the UK division of the Epicurean World Master Chefs Society competing in Toronto in the Golden Platter Banqueting Competition, has asked us to clarify that Simon Furey is executive chef at the Montague Arms in Beaulieu, Hampshire, and Wayne Asson is executive chef at the Dalmahoy Marriott hotel, Edinburgh.