Simpson's in the Strand appoints Adrian Martin as chef de cuisine

Martin has replaced William Hemming who left Simpson’s in April to take up the role of executive chef at the soon-to-open Monkey Island Estate in Bray, Berkshire.

Hemming joined Simpson’s for the reopening of the restaurant in summer 2017 following an extensive refurbishment.

Martin has joined the restaurant which sits adjacent to the five-red-AA-star, 267-bedroom Savoy hotel from the Curtain hotel in London, where he was executive chef for nearly two years. He intends to bring “a new lightness” to the classic British menu.

After launching his career as an apprentice chef at the Dorchester hotel in 1982, Martin has gone on to work in some of the capital’s leading kitchens. His first head chef position was at Scott’s restaurant in 1998, since when he has headed up brigades at private members’ clubs Home House and Annabel’s.

In 2003, Martin had a brief stint outside London when he returned to his Kent roots to open his own restaurant, Right on the Green, near Tunbridge Wells.

Martin said: “I am delighted to be taking on the mantle of chef de cuisine at Simpson’s in the Strand; it is an honour to be part of the restaurant’s illustrious history and I look forward to creating a bill of fare that pays homage to the bounty of the British Isles.”

Simpson’s in the Strand has been in existence with the Grade II-listed building since opening as a chess club and coffee house in 1828. Last year’s refurbishment was undertaken by Robert Angell Design International.

Former Simpson’s in the Strand head chef joins Monkey Island Estate >>

William Hemming joins Simpson’s in the Strand as head chef >>

Home House appoints Adrian Martin as executive head chef >>

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