Jason Atherton joins forces with Restaurant Associates

Jason Atherton has become the latest high-profile chef to join forces with Restaurant Associates (RA), the premium services arm of contract catering giant Compass, Caterer can exclusively reveal.

Following in the footsteps of leading chefs Albert Roux, Michel Roux Jnr and Gary Rhodes, Atherton, who left Gordon Ramsay Holdings in April, will work with RA to develop a new corporate dining offer.

The contract will see Atherton create bespoke executive dining concepts for individual RA clients. RA is also expecting to look at restaurant opportunities with Atherton along the lines of the existing restaurant partnerships with Michel Roux Jnr at Roux at Parliament Square and Gary Rhodes at Tower 42 and the Cumberland hotel.

The ongoing contract, which began this month, comes hot on the heels of Atherton's departure from the one-Michelin-starred Maze restaurant and ahead of his plans to launch his own restaurant in Pollen Street in Mayfair later this year.

"This partnership with RA is a great opportunity for me to bring my style of cooking and the influences I gained from around the globe to the corporate dining market," commented Atherton. "RA's commitment to providing the highest-quality fresh ingredients that are fully traceable fits perfectly with my focus on food quality and provenance."

RA managing director Nick Potter said: "RA has a long-standing reputation for delivering only the very best through its high-quality food, exceptional people and excellent service, and we believe Jason's experience and approach to dining is the perfect match.

"As a business we are constantly evolving to meet the needs and expectations of our market-leading portfolio of prestigious high-profile clients. Jason will play a key role in helping us continue to develop and improve our corporate and public-facing dining offers and we are thrilled to have him on board."

Atherton opened his first independent restaurant venture at the Waterhouse at South Bund hotel in Shanghai in May. Table No 1 by Jason Atherton is a 60-seat restaurant serving modern European dishes.

See our interview with Jason Atherton in the 6 August issue of Caterer, in which he unveils plans for his London restaurant.

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