Gordon Ramsay appoints Stuart Gillies to oversee relaunch of the Savoy Grill
Gordon Ramsay Holdings (GRH) has appointed Stuart Gillies to oversee the relaunch of London's Savoy Grill when it opens later this year, Caterersearch can reveal.
Gillies has been heading up GRH's Boxwood Café at the Berkeley hotel as well as Ramsay's Plane Food restaurant at Heathrow's Terminal 5.
He will be in charge of the menu at the former Michelin-starred Savoy Grill, which is due to reopen following a £100m refurbishment of the Savoy hotel this winter.
Savoy Grill general manager Jean Baptiste Requien will oversee front of house.
Gillies appointment follows the departure of the Savoy Grill's previous chef-patron Marcus Wareing after his acrimonious split with GRH last year.
The redesign of the 100-seat restaurant, which will also include a 50-seat private dining room, is being overseen by design consultancy the Russell Sage Studio, which has been briefed to preserve the room's original table plan.
New features will include 1920s Art Deco lighting, wood panelling and recessed mirrors as well as silk and velvet fabric coverings.
Gillies told Caterersearch he planned to create a classic menu to bring the Savoy Grill back to its former glory.
"The aim is to go back to what the Savoy Grill used to be and there will be a large menu of dishes with a lot of theatre around them. It's all about the room and creating a great atmosphere," he said.
Dishes will include chauteaubriand with pommes soufflé; whole roast rump of veal from the trolley; and the classic omelette Arnold Bennett.
Gillies said: "The menu at the Savoy Grill will be a menu that suits everyone and all items will be individually priced. These days people don't have time for a four-course lunch and those who want can be in and out of there in an hour."
The 120-year-old Savoy Hotel, which closed for refurbishment in December 2007, was due to reopen this May, but this has now been put back until the last quarter of 2009.
Its general manager Kiaran MacDonald last week played down reports that the hotel was up for sale.
Gillies appointment follows news that Michelin-starred chef Heston Blumethal is set to open a restaurant at luxury London hotel the Mandarin Oriental in Knightsbridge.
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By Kerstin Kühn
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