Rudi Warner appointed head chef of D&D’s Blueprint Café

Rudi Warner has been appointed head chef of D&D London’s Blueprint Café in Shad Thames, joining from L’oscar in Holborn where he was sous chef.

Warner has also worked as a junior sous chef at Ollie Dabbous’ Hide (Above) and has held sous chef roles at Pidgin and Dabbous. He replaces Joe Albina, who took over following the departure of chef-patron Minesh Patel last year.

His British dishes include starters like London cured smoked salmon, Cornish crab and a tartare of heritage carrot served with Yorkshire fettle cheese and sunflower seed praline. Mains include Gloucester old spot pork chop served with caramelised onion and potato puree, with desserts such as cherry blossom-soaked tea cake with rum and whipped cream.

Warner is launching a new brunch menu on Sundays from December with a dedicated French toast menu, including French toast with Gruyere and Cumbrian ham topped with a fried Cacklebean egg, and a sweet option that is soaked in fig leaf custard and finished with crushed Brogdale pear.

He said: “I’m thrilled to be joining D&D and to be leading the team at this wonderful London restaurant. As a Londoner myself, the city has always inspired my cooking and it’s so exciting to be able to create modern British dishes in the heart of my home city”.