Stefan Chomka

1 week ago | restaurantonline.co.uk | Joe Lutrario |Stefan Chomka |William Reed

Nice office…Johnny Smith: We wanted to give SMITH & WILLIS a home. Somewhere to bring together everything we love about restaurants. It’s going to be the creative force that drives the business forward. We’d had our eye on this space above LUCA for a while. The day we signed, we were served notice at our old office across the road, so it felt meant to be. It has a Manchester loft vibe, which Daniel and I love.

3 weeks ago | restaurantonline.co.uk | Joe Lutrario |Stefan Chomka |James McAllister |William Reed

The group says that the appointment is an exciting new chapter for the luxury St. James’s property, which is home to The Game Bird restaurant and the American Bar. Caines - who is the chef owner of Michelin-starred hotel and restaurant Lympstone Manor - will work with the existing team to ‘shape the hotel’s culinary vision’ and ‘elevate dining experiences throughout’.

3 weeks ago | restaurantonline.co.uk | Stefan Chomka |William Reed

Every restaurateur has their all-too familiar Covid lockdown story - of forced closure, furlough, anxiety about whether there might even be a business on the other side - but Emma Schwarz’s is slightly different. When the UK shutdown in March 2020, the former retail expert didn’t yet have a restaurant, having been locked in negotiations with two separate landlords on trying to open her first place.

3 weeks ago | restaurantonline.co.uk | Joe Lutrario |Stefan Chomka |William Reed

The chef - who swapped the restaurant world for school catering in 2023 - impressed the judges with her dessert entitled ‘Books, The Mind’s Food’. Made with hay-infused set cream, fermented strawberries and a white chocolate disc, served with honey parfait and a sable biscuit sandwich the dish was inspired by writer Hannah More. She fought off competition from fellow banquet chefs Jean Delport and Sally Abé to win the award, which is determined by the banquet guests voting for their favorite dish.

3 weeks ago | restaurantonline.co.uk | Joe Lutrario |Stefan Chomka |William Reed

Originally from Malta, Carabott replaces George Blogg who left the property late last year. Carabott won the Roux Scholarship in 2018 aged 29, when he was senior sous-chef at Michelin-starred Mayfair restaurant Hide. After winning the Roux Scholarship, Carabott completed a stage at three Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park in New York. He was most recently head of development at Michelin-starred Clerkenwell restaurant Luca.