Alan Murchison appointed British Cycling's team chef ahead of world championships
Alan Murchison has been appointed team chef for British Cycling ahead of the UCI Track Cycling World Championships.
He tweeted: "Really pleased to be working with British Cycling for forthcoming World Champs as Team Chef. Back in the kitchen game."
Murchison, who offers nutritional support to athletes through his Performance Chef business, will travel to the Netherlands with the team on 22 February.
He told The Caterer: "It's good to work in a different high performance environment. Since I left the restaurant world I have been looking after some very, very good sports people, including Olympians, and this came up and seemed like a great opportunity."
The chef, who is a keen sportsman himself and has won several world and European triathlons in his age group, will take over a kitchen and prepare all of the athlete's meals during the competition.
Murchison had previously held a Michelin star for more than a decade and four AA rosettes as executive chef at L'Ortolan restaurant in Berkshire.
L'Ortolan was one of several restaurants owned by 10 in 8 Group, set up by Murchison in partnership with businessman Richard Pursey with the aim of accumulating ten Michelin-starred restaurants in eight years. Alan Murchison Restaurants Limited, which was owned by 10 in 8 Group, entered liquidation in late 2013.
In 2015 Murchison pulled out of plans to take over La Bécasse in Ludlow and left the restaurant world saying it was "time for something new", before going on to launch Performance Chef.
He explained: "I wanted to do something that allowed me to use my knowledge of food and love of sport and saw a gap in the market doing nutritional food for athletes."
Murchison said "hell would freeze over" before he opened another restaurant, with his plans instead involving more work with world class athletes and a book about nutrition for cyclists set for release in 2019.
Alan Murchison pulls out of La Bécasse>>
Alan Murchison resigns from L'Ortolan>>
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