Alain Ducasse set to open soon at the Dorchester

French chef Alain Ducasse is to open his eagerly awaited restaurant at London's Dorchester hotel on 13 November, Caterer can reveal.

The 80-cover Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester eaterie will be located in the hotel's Terrace private dining room, overlooking Park Lane and Hyde Park.

The kitchen will be overseen by executive chef Nicola Canuti, who joins from Ducasse's Spoon des Iles at the One & Only Le Saint Géran hotel in Mauritius, with sous chef Bruno Riou and pastry chef Angelo Ercolano.

Restaurant manager will be Christian Laval, who has been manager of Ducasse's Spoon Food & Wine in Paris since it opened in 1998. He will be supported by Philippe Beaucourt, while head sommelier will be Hugues Lepin.

Ducasse said: "I rely on my executive chefs to translate my cuisine and at the Dorchester I'm blessed with a particularly gifted and capable brigade. Matched by the finesse of the front-of-house team, these key staff will be responsible for making Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester as perfect as possible every week."

Ducasse's Dorchester plans were the subject of long-running speculation last year, with the hotel consistently denying that he was joining. However, the move was confirmed in Caterer in January.

By Kerstin Kühn

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