Mark Sargeant to return to Folkestone with new restaurant

Mark Sargeant is returning to Folkestone to open a new restaurant in the Kent town in May.

The chef will launch Brasserie MS, which will offer French cuisine through a mix of reimagined classics and more contemporary dishes.

It will have an art deco design inspired by some of the great restaurants of the late 1990s. Sargeant is aiming to bring a “casual elegance” to the site after spending the last 15 years running more relaxed venues.

The restaurant will seat 60 covers with an eight cover bar and cocktail area for 18 customers.

It will serve a full a la carte menu, a plats du jour at lunchtime and a gastronomic tasting menu.

A chef's table for six guests will sit in the heart of the kitchen and customers may have the chance to cook some of their own dishes as part of the “immersive experience”.

Brasserie MS's bar area will serve cocktails and an extensive wine list of European and British wines.

Sargeant spent 13 years working with Gordon Ramsay and won the National Chef of the Year award in 2002.

He stepped away from his Kent-based hospitality business Rocksalt Group last year citing “unresolvable differences of opinion” with his business partner Josh De Haan.

In 2021 accusations emerged of Sargeant sexually assaulting an American Airlines employee. The chef denied the accusation but apologised for behaviour he said showed a "lack of respect".