- A group of 70 female chefs and hospitality professionals have signed an open letter describing the industry as ‘systematically flawed’. The letter, addressed to ‘all those who benefit from the joys of dining out’ and published by The Telegraph, has been spearheaded by London-based chefs Sally Abé of The Pem and Dara Klein of Tiella, and signed by highprofile names including Chantelle Nicholson, Poppy O’Toole and Candice Brown. It says that sexism ‘has been and remains a pervasive issue’ in the industry that ‘shapes the culture of kitchens in ways that diminish the potential and contributions of countless talented women’.
- Matt Abé is leaving his role as chef patron at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay to open his own restaurant on the former Le Gavroche site in London’s Mayfair later this year. The new restaurant, which will be Abé’s first solo venture, will be backed by Ramsay, who has secured a 15-year lease on the iconic property. It comes after Restaurant revealed last week that Ramsay’s Union Street Café Limited had successfully applied for a premises licence transfer for the Upper Brook Street site and that Abé was likely to lead the new restaurant there.
- A fire that ripped through London’s Chiltern Firehouse hotel on Friday evening (14 February) was caused by wood falling from a pizza oven. The London Fire Brigade (LFB) has said the blaze, which led to 100 people being evacuated from the Marylebone five-star, began accidentally when burning wood fell from the oven and ignited the void between the basement and ground floor. It spread via ducting and damaged parts of the ground floor, half of the second floor and destroyed the third floor and roof of the four-storey hotel.
- Northern burger brand Almost Famous is to relaunch its restaurants in Manchester and Liverpool after being acquired by D2, the competitive socialising operator behind PINS Social Club. D2, which is led by Almost Famous’s former operations director Daniel Kelly, has taken on the group’s restaurants in Manchester’s Northern Quarter and on Liverpool’s Parr Street, with both sites set to reopen in the next week. It comes after Almost Famous closed its three-strong estate last month, citing lingering Covid debt and rising costs.
- Pasta Evangelists is accelerating its restaurant expansion with plans to open 10 new locations by the end of the year. The Barilla-owned fresh pasta brand will open its next restaurant in Guildford, adding to its five sites in Harrods in Knightsbridge, Chiswick, Greenwich, Richmond, and Manchester Airport. Pasta Evangelists opened its first restaurant in Richmond in July 2024 and has undergone a major transformation over the past year, expanding from a subscription and takeaway-only model to a more traditional restaurant model.
