Alex Rowe named director of food at Vacherin

Alex Rowe has been promoted to director of food at specialist London caterer Vacherin.

He was previously head of food at the now Compass-owned catering company, having first joined as executive development chef in 2022.

Rowe has been heavily involved in bringing new talent into the industry through Vacherin’s grass roots programme, Plate, which is run in partnership with Westminster Kingsway College.

He also works closely with Vacherin’s chosen charities, which include Luminary Bakery, Brigade and Surrey Docks Farm.

Rowe said: “I’m truly honoured to have received this promotion in recognition of all the amazing things the team and I have accomplished over the past 18 months. Vacherin is a very special place to work, and I wouldn’t be in this position today if it wasn’t for all the phenomenal chefs and colleagues that support each other. I couldn’t be more inspired to drive a talented chef culture into the future, and with our combined knowledge, time and passion, there really are exciting times ahead.”

Phil Roker, managing director at Vacherin, added: “Alex’s promotion is in recognition of the way he’s evolved the food culture within Vacherin, elevated our culinary reputation even further, and worked with our consultant chef Sabrina Gidda to make her an integral part of our food story.

“He’s also built and developed a fabulous culinary team, which is evidenced by the number of competitions our chefs have entered and the record number of medals and wins they have achieved under his leadership.”

Vacherin was founded in 2002 by Mark Philpott and Clive Hetherington. In 2006, they were joined by Phil Roker, who has been managing director of the business since 2016.

Vacherin was sold to CH&Co in 2020, and in May 2024, Compass completed its acquisition of CH&Co.