Paul Boorman joins Wivenhoe House as executive chef
Wivenhoe House, the luxury country house hotel in Colchester which will be home to the Edge Hotel School, has appointed Paul Boorman (pictured) as executive chef.
Former Essex Chef of the Year, Boorman was head chef at the Juniper restaurant at Clarice House in Colchester when it was named Essex Restaurant of the Year 2009. He has since gone on to be executive head chef at the Lifehouse Spa at Thorpe-le-Soken and last year joined MUSA restaurant. Both MUSA and Wivenhoe House both form part of University of Essex Commercial Services and Boorman will continue to provide advice to MUSA's chef team.
At the Grade II-listed, 18th Century Wivenhoe House - which is due to open in summer 2012 as a 40-bedroom hotel following a £10m refurbishment - Boorman will be responsible for the fine-dining Signatures restaurant in the orignal house, as well as the contemporary brasserie in the new garden wing.
Boorman said: "The combination of old and new at Wivenhoe House will be reflected in my menus, where traditional recipes with a contemporary twist will combine with new dishes to encourage both customers and our culinary management students to think differently about food."
Stephen Mannock, general manager of Wivenhoe House, said: "Paul's passion for locally sourced seasonal food will come through strongly on our menus, making Wivenhoe House a leading food destination for the area. His expertise will also help to inspire the students of the Edge Hotel School to become the future leaders of the food and hotel industry."
The Edge Hotel School will be the UK's first hotel school based entirely in a fully operational hotel open to all, providing degree-level academic study combined with vocational learning. Its first intake of students will join in June and have the rare opportunity of opening a hotel and restaurant.
It is being operated as a partnership between the independent education foundation Edge, the University of Essex and its academic partner Kaplan.
Launch of UK's first working hotel school >>
Teaching hotel to open in London >>
Savoy trust looks at London hotel school >>
By Janet Harmer
E-mail your comments to Janet Harmer here.
Catererandhotelkeeper.com jobs
Looking for a new job? Find your next job here with Catererandhotelkeeper.com jobs
