Rhodes to take over Admiralty
Chef Gary Rhodes and Restaurant Associates are set to open a second London restaurant this summer. The new venue will be the Admiralty restaurant at Somerset House.
A spokeswoman for Rhodes said: "We're hoping to be operational in June or July, and are in the process of putting a team together."
The Admiralty is currently run by Restaurant Associates, the fine-dining arm of Compass Group. Putting Rhodes's name above the door will extend their partnership, which was established four months ago at City of London restaurant Rhodes 24.
A recruitment drive is already under way - a series of trainee chefs from Northampton College have been attending work placements at Rhodes 24. A spokeswoman said that a further six to eight kitchen staff would be recruited soon to work at the new restaurant.
Compass bought the Admiralty from Oliver Peyton in April 2002 for a price tag in the region of £6.6m. Since then, Rhodes's influence has been spotted in changes at the restaurant.
Head chef Robert Spencer, who joined last September, worked with Rhodes at both his previous Michelin-starred London restaurants, Rhodes in the Square and City Rhodes.
