New chef at Aubergine

WILLIAM Drabble is to take over the head chef position at London's Aubergine restaurant, which reopens tomorrow.

The former head chef of Michael's Nook restaurant in Grasmere, Cumbria, who won his first Michelin star this year, is taking over from Gordon Ramsay, who opened his new restaurant last week.

A-Z Restaurants, which owns Aubergine, was considering David Cavalier, formerly of London's L'Escargot and Bromley's Chapter One, for the job. But it is understood that the company was wary of entering into a joint-partnership agreement proposed by Cavalier.

In July, Aubergine was forced to close after Ramsay left abruptly, prompting a mass resignation of 44 staff (Caterer, 30 July, page 7).

l Gordon Ramsay's new restaurant, called Gordon Ramsay, had only been open for a few hours last week before one of the waiters upset Ramsay and was sacked. Refusing to reveal the reason for the sacking, Ramsay said: "Hiring and firing is my business. I do not have to report to Caterer & Hotelkeeper." See feature, page 44