Emma Underwood joins Mark Jarvis's Stem as restaurant manager

Emma Underwood will be overseeing Mark Jarvis's latest restaurant Stem as restaurant manager when it opens at the end of the month.

Catey 2017 Newcomer Award winner Jarvis, chef-patron of Anglo in Farringdon and Neo Bistro near Oxford Street, will open the 30-cover restaurant serving modern British food on Princes Street in London's Mayfair. Sam Ashton-Booth will be head chef and the team is in the process of recruiting a seven-strong front-of-house team.

Underwood left her PhD in history to join Gary Usher's Sticky Walnut in Chester as assistant manager in 2012. She later became general manager of Usher's Burnt Truffle restaurant in Heswall on the Wirral and most recently was general manager of Where The Light Gets In in Stockport.

Underwood, speaking to The Caterer, said: "I've known Jon Cannon, the operations manager, for about five years. He used to come into Sticky a lot and we became friends. So when I saw they were opening this up I started talking to him about it and that was it. I've wanted to come down to London for years, I looked at going to uni here 14 years ago, and it was now or never.

She will also continue to be involved with industry initiatives the TMRW Project, connecting young hospitality professionals, and Switch, a front of house initiative to mirror the chef’s stage.

Photo Credit: Kathryn Wood

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