Wareing not guilty of job move to QC

Chef Marcus Wareing has confirmed rumours that he considered becoming a consultant chef for the QC restaurant at the Renaissance London Chancery Court hotel.

Wareing, chef-patron of the one-Michelin-starred Pétrus restaurant in the capital, said that the hotel offered him the role but he turned it down.

He said that he and his business partner, chef-restaurateur Gordon Ramsay, looked at the 122-seat restaurant but decided it "wasn't right".

Wareing said that he rejected the offer because he wanted to focus on developing the food at Pétrus, and he felt that he would not be able to do this if he had taken on the job. He said: "I want to work towards winning a second Michelin star."

Jun Tanaka, head chef at QC, was not prepared to comment on further rumours that he was leaving the restaurant. He said: "If you want to know something, you had better ask the management. It is not up to me to talk about it."

Simon Trainer, food and beverage director at the Renaissance Chancery Court, said: "Jun is here and there is no further comment on that. How long he stays is up to him."

He said it was "business as usual" at QC.

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 11 - 17 July 2002