MasterChef finalist Larkin Cen to open restaurant at Celtic Manor
Former MasterChef finalist Larkin Cen will launch his first restaurant at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport on 29 January.
The new venture, named Cen, will take over the current Le Patio bistro site in the Manor House, which will be refurbished. It will be the first Asian restaurant at the resort and will join a portfolio of six other restaurants.
Cen will serve pan-Asian dishes ranging from steamed bao buns filled with hoi sin duck or pork belly to sharing platters of Peking duck and Korean fried chicken.
Speaking about the new restaurant, Cen said: "Cen means innovation and forward thinking in Chinese and, coupled with the fact that I have always had the complete support from my family in pursuing my dream, it seemed fitting that the restaurant should be given my family name.
"I'm incredibly excited to be launching a restaurant at the Celtic Manor. The Celtic Manor has a reputation for fine dining and I'm over the moon to be working with the culinary team at the resort to bring a different Asian food experience to the diners' tables."
Cen said: "It's over two years since the pop-up and so to be returning to the Celtic Manor to open a different and unique Asian restaurant is wonderful. I'm really looking forward to showing my passion and enthusiasm for Asian food to a different culinary audience. I can't wait to get stuck in.
"The challenge in a takeaway setting is that you have to make food under extremely tight timescales and produce food that travels well. Cen is a restaurant with table service and we will have more flexibility to be artistic with plating up and with innovative ideas for the dishes."
Celtic Manor Resort culinary director Peter Fuchs added: "As he showed when reaching the final of MasterChef, Larkin Cen is one of the most talented young chefs around and we are delighted to be working with him to create this new restaurant."
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