New head chef for Russell Norman's Ape & Bird pub

Russell Norman's London pub, the Ape & Bird, has installed Alex Windebank as its new head chef.

Windebank replaces Russell Oxtoby who has left the 5,000 sq ft, three-storey pub, restaurant and bar on Cambridge Circus just two months after the new site launched.

Windebank has previously worked at the Michelin-starred Sportsman at Seasalter, near Whitstable, and most recently head chef at the Plough Inn, Stalisfield Green, Kent.

He will join as head chef of the 120-cover restaurant in March. Windebank, 29, will develop the opening menu, bringing a stronger emphasis on British comfort classics and good value lunches.

Tom Oldroyd, chef director of parent company Polpo Ltd said: "It is fantastic to be welcoming Alex to The Ape & Bird. His cooking at the award-winning Plough Inn in Stalisfield has earned him an impressive reputation and we are all looking forward to him making his mark on the London casual dining scene."