Pippa MacDonald to replace Neil Borthwick at Merchants Tavern

Pippa MacDonald will take on the role of head chef at Merchants Tavern following the departure of Neil Borthwick.

Previously the Shoreditch restaurant's sous chef, MacDonald brings experience from Scott's in Mayfair, J Sheekey and Tom Aiken's Hong Kong restaurant, The Pawn in Wan Chai.

Neil Borthwick confirmed he had stepped down as head chef yesterday. The site opened with him at the helm in 2013 as a collaboration between him and wife Angela Hartnett.

He will now move on to the French House in Soho, where he starts next week.

Tweeting yesterday morning Borthwick said: "It's all change…I stepped down as head chef @merchantstavern earlier this year, and I want to say a big thanks to all the team for their hard work and dedication over the last 5 years, it's been a blast and I know you will go on to great things. Go for it! Watch this space."

He later added: "So from next week I will be cooking @frenchhousesoho. I'm doing what I love best!"

Before opening Merchants Tavern Borthwich worked at restaurants including Gordon Ramsay's Amaryillis in Glasgow, Restaurant Tom Aiken, Maison Pic in France and Phil Howard's the Square.

The opening came a year after a horrific cycling accident left him with a serious head injury. He later told The Caterer: "I think on a list of 10 things not to do after an injury like mine, number one would definitely be not to open a central London restaurant."

Neil Borthwick departs Merchants Tavern to join the French House in Soho>>

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