Levin funds Oxford Brookes refit

Hotelier David Levin is to put £300,000 of his own money into a project to improve training facilities for hotel and catering students.

Levin, who owns several hotels and restaurants in London, including the Capital Hotel, Knightsbridge, has paid the architects who design his venues to revamp the teaching restaurant at Oxford Brookes University's school of hotel and restaurant management.

Levin, who became a fellow of the university two years ago, said: "The teaching kitchens are extremely good. But the restaurant next door is a nightmare. It's just a space with a few chairs and the most ghastly set of tables."

He added: "It's terrible that young people coming into the industry have to learn in that sort of environment."

The menu has also been overhauled, by award-winning chef Sonya Kidney. Dishes now include chicken with spinach and goats' cheese, and cabbage leaves stuffed with Stilton and walnuts with a red wine sauce, at about £8 for a three-course meal.

The university has put £50,000 into the new restaurant which re-opens in the autumn.