New head chef appointed at Adam Handling’s Ugly Butterfly with Jamie Park to move to new role

A new head chef has been announced at Ugly Butterfly, with Jamie Park moving to a new role within the Adam Handling Group

Connor Blades has been appointed head chef at Adam Handling’s ‘zero-waste’ Ugly Butterfly restaurant in St Ives. He will take the reins from Jamie Park, who is taking on a yet-to-be-announced new role within the wider group.

Ugly Butterfly opened at the Carbis Bay Estate in Cornwall last August with Blades as sous chef.

He joined the Adam Handling Restaurant Group in London in 2014 as a college student, working part-time while he was studying, before leaving college to join the group’s apprenticeship programme. He was part of the team that launched the Frog E1. He stayed there for over a year before leaving to gain experience at other restaurants, including Simon Rogan’s Roganic and Aulis in London and Hong Kong and rejoining the group in December 2020.

In 2021 he was named UK Young Chef of the Year in the Young Chef Young Waiter Competition.

He said: “I’m over the moon to be taking over as head chef at Ugly Butterfly. I really identify with the ethos of the restaurant, being as sustainable as possible and sourcing incredible produce from super-local suppliers. I’m really proud to have been part of the team that opened the restaurant and to now lead it alongside Adam and Jamie.

"This is my first head chef role and I’m grateful to Adam for putting his faith in me, it’s an exciting opportunity. The group is a brilliant company to work for, we really are a family, and Adam has been a great mentor. He’s taught me most things I know, and he’s always been there for me to talk to when times are good or bad.”

Handling said: “Connor has been with me for years. He first walked into my restaurant when he was 15 years old, initially for a stage before he decided he wanted to stay for a while. He was a little legend from the beginning. He spent a few years developing his skills abroad before coming back to us, and to see his journey over the eight years I’ve known him, from apprentice to head chef, is really an incredible achievement. He’s the youngest ever head chef I’ve appointed, he’s even beaten my record! I’m super-proud of Connor and if I could pinpoint one person to be the future of our group, it would be him.”

Handling opened his flagship restaurant, Frog by Adam Handling, in Covent Garden in September 2017, which was awarded its first Michelin star in February 2022.

In May 2021, Handling opened pub and restaurant with rooms, the Loch & The Tyne in Old Windsor, naming two of his senior chefs, Steven Kerr and Jonny McNeil, as co-chef proprietors. The venue was shortlisted for the 2022 Cateys Pub & Bar Award.

Photo: John Hersey Studio