Granada's McCann buys 755 as Thompson heads back in time to 947AD
Three-AA-rosette London restaurant 755 Fulham Road is to reopen on 4 October after an extended summer break, under the proprietorship of Granada executive chef Mark McCann, who is currently working out his notice with the contract catering giant.
McCann bought the eaterie for "close to" the asking price of £500,000, said outgoing chef-proprietor Alan Thompson.
"I've been looking to open my ownrestaurant on and off for seven years now," explained McCann, who has been with Sutcliffe/Granada for the past nine years. He leaves his current post as executive chef of the group's Distinctive Restaurants on 15 September. Prior to shifting into the contract catering sector, McCann had an international career encompassing stints with Guy Savoy in Paris and a spell as chef to the late King Hussein of Jordan.
McCann intends to continue cooking modern European and British food at 755. "The initial challenge will be to maintain Alan's high standards and then to build on that for the future," he said. He added that he had no plans to carry out a major refurbishment. Making the move to Fulham with him, McCann revealed, is fellow Granada chef Simon McKenzie, whose CV includes stints at London restaurants Aubergine and Les Saveurs, and at the capital's Lanesborough hotel.
Australia-born Thompson and his wife and business partner Georgina ran their last service at the SW7 restaurant in July, prior to the restaurant's annual August holiday closure. The business has been on the market since March after the couple purchased the Royalist hotel at Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire. "We ended the way we started - full - so that felt good," Thompson said.
Thompson aims to serve his signature dish of griddled foie gras with Yorkshire pudding and Madeira jus, introduced during his tenure at the Fulham eaterie, in the Royalist's 45-seat fine-dining restaurant.
The restaurant, which opens in October with a set-price three-course menu at £29, will be called 947AD after the authenticated age of the Grade II-listed building which houses the Royalist. Other dishes planned for the opening menu include slow-roast Cotswold lamb and red onion marmalade with sage and lime juice; and roast scallops with apple purée, sautéd artichoke and aubergine caviare.
The Royalist has been completely refurbished by the Thompsons at a cost of nearly £2m. In addition to the 12-bedroom hotel and 947AD, the couple have also opened a pub on the premises, the Eagle and Child. Typical dishes on the pub menu include mixed fish cake with soft poached egg and ginger soy dressing; and smoked haddock Welsh rarebit with crushed olive potatoes.
by Joanna Wood
