Aiden Byrne departs Manchester House to oversee D&D London's northern expansion

Aiden Byrne, who had already stepped back from his role as chef-proprietor of Living Ventures' Manchester House in Manchester, is to leave the business entirely to oversee new openings in the north of England for D&D London.

Developed by Allied London, 20 Stories is located on the 19th floor roof top and is expected to be the city's most high profile and glamorous restaurant opening of 2018. The naturalistic interior design is being created by New York- based company CetraRuddy, using locally sourced materials and handcrafted textiles reflecting Manchester's heritage.

A roof top garden will host an outdoor lounge bar under a canopy of trees and dramatic lighting, BBQs and fireplaces.

The menu at 20 Stories will be modern British, with a focus on using suppliers from within 50 miles of the city. Alongside the restaurant, a more casual brasserie will serve dishes mainly from the grill, while the bar will offer modern cocktails and craft beers.

Des Gunewardena, chairman and chief executive of D&D London, said: "Manchester is a fantastic city and we have watched closely over the last few years the resurgence of the restaurant scene in the city generally and in Spinningfields, in particular. Working with Mike Ingall's Allied London as landlord and now with Aiden Byrne, a chef who we've long admired, is a very exciting prospect for us.

"20 Stories is a project that we at D&D, have looked forward to launching with huge anticipation and in Aiden, we couldn't have asked for a better chef to partner with ".

As well as paying homage to its skyscraper location, the name 20 Stories is a nod to the original building on the site of the new development. Northcliffe House was the former home of the Manchester Evening News, The Guardian and The Daily Mail.

Nathaniel Tofan, who was promoted to head chef in September as it was announced that Byrne would focus on consultancy for Living Ventures, has now taken over the reins of Manchester House.

Byrne, who earlier in his career worked at Adlards, the Commons restaurant, Danesfield House and Spa and Tom Aikens restaurant, teamed up with Living Ventures in 2012 to open Manchester House.

In 2014, he featured in a BBC Two documentary alongside Simon Rogan who was heading the French at Manchester's Midland hotel, as the two battled it out in the hope of winning back a Michelin star for the city.

Jeremy Roberts CEO of Living Ventures said: "We're sorry to see Aiden leaving us and I want to take this opportunity to thank him publicly for his enormous contribution in establishing Manchester House on the culinary landscape of the city. We wish him every success for the future. Living Ventures have a history of developing young talented people within the company and we're excited to see Nat achieve his potential."

Nathaniel Tofan promoted to head chef at Manchester House, as Aiden Byrne steps back >>

Aiden Byrne teams up with Living Ventures to launch fine-dining restaurant in Manchester >>

Chef Eats Out: Aiden Byrne hosts at Manchester House >>

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