Hedone's Matthew Hough joins revamped Simpsons
Matthew Hough, the former maître d' at Michelin-starred Hedone in Chiswick, is to become the new general manager of Simpsons restaurant in Birmingham.
Hough's appointment comes as Simpsons unveiled a major new refurbishment, with a fresh, new, modern style in the Grade II-listed building.
He has spent 28 years working in hospitality, including at Chez Bruce, La Trompette and the Wolseley.
In 2007 he was appointed as a consultant to turn around the fortunes of the Plough in East Sheen and was also behind the appointment of Mark Poynton in the role of executive chef at the Michelin-starred Alimentum in Cambridge.
He then went on to become restaurant manager for Medlar in London's King's Road and also managed the opening of Marianne in Notting Hill.
He was maître d' at Hedone from spring 2014 until earlier this year.
Speaking about his appointment, he said he was looking forward to working alongside chef-patron Andreas Antona and chef-director Luke Tipping. He said: "Simpsons is making a bold statement with the recent refurbishment and I find that willingness to change very exciting.
"Andreas and Luke have invested a lot of time, effort and money to establish the restaurant as the pinnacle of dining in the city. There is no better feeling than having a diner shake my hand and say ‘that was a great experience' - that's what drives my passion. I'm looking forward to delivering the best customer service in Birmingham and making Simpsons the destination restaurant that it deserves to be."
Hough, whose first day is 1 October, is the latest appointment at Simpsons, which has also made Nathan Eades head chef, following the departure of Matt Cheal to open his own restaurant.
The refurbishment at Simpsons was organised by the building's owner, Calthorpe Estates, and project managed by Brett Adams. Leisure Concepts was responsible for the interior, which takes inspiration from chef-patron Andreas Antona's admiration for simple designs common to Bauhaus, Scandinavia and Japan.
Tipping has changed the menus and diners are now able to choose from a set lunch menu, a five-course menu, or an eight-course menu.
He said: "We've been considering the changes for a while now and the reopening seemed the ideal time to introduce them. By streamlining the menu further we can spend that bit more time on perfecting every dish, ensuring a superior dining experience for our guests."
Meanwhile, Hough's former workplace Hedone has recently announced a series of changes to its set-up, including doing away with a conventional menu and decreasing from 40 covers to 18.
Hedone to reopen without a menu after revamp >>
Nathan Eades announced as new head chef at Edgbaston's Simpsons >>
