Marco protégé Tim Payne to open café-greengrocer with MasterChef's Gregg Wallace

Tim Payne, head chef at Paradise by Way of Kensal Green, is leaving the west London restaurant to join forces with MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace.

Wallace is setting up a greengrocer-cum-café concept in Putney together with former Elbow Room owner Justin Carter. The duo has bought the old Red's site on Upper Richmond Road and will relaunch it as Wallace & Co before Christmas.

Wallace & Co will feature a range of branded grocery items as well as fresh fruit and vegetables supplied by Secrett's Direct, owned by Wallace and business partner Vernon Mascarenhas.

Payne is understood to be joining the venture as executive chef after three years at Paradise.

Previously he was executive chef for Marco Pierre White's restaurants for seven years and appeared alongside the fiery chef in his two series of ITV's Hell's Kitchen.

Payne also did a stint with Planet Hollywood founder Robert Earl and as consultant chef for Oliver Peyton's restaurants.

Paradise is owned by Steven Ball and Riz Shaikh, the team behind other London gastropubs the Old Queens Head in Islington, Queen Boadicea in Clerkenwell and the Westbury in Kilburn. The duo last month launched restaurant and live music venue the Blues Kitchen in Camden.

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By Kerstin Kühn

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