Chef round-up

Ducasse settles into St Regis
Alain Ducasse is to open a new restaurant at St Regis Hotels & Resorts' flagship property in New York.

Due to open in March next year, the restaurant, which has yet to be named, will also feature a wine bar. Ducasse also has a self-titled restaurant at Essex House hotel in New York's Central Park.

St Regis is part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

Evans moves to York
Middlethorpe Hall hotel in York, which was recently awarded a fourth AA rosette, has recruited Nicholas Evans as head chef.

In March, as head chef of Owen's restaurant at the Celtic Manor resort near Newport, Evans took the National Chef of Wales crown in the biennial event organised by the Welsh Culinary Association.

He was also a finalist in the recent National Chef of the Year 2006 competition.

Morston Hall expands
Norfolk's Morston Hall will almost double its accommodation when the seven-bedroom restaurant with rooms embarks on a major expansion project next month.

The extra rooms, which will be separate from the main building in an environmentally conscious new-build, will comprise six suites on two levels, with private gardens.

Chef-proprietor Galton Blackiston, who earlier this year took part in the Great British Menu TV series, said: "It's going to be high-spec. We've got TVs in the bathroom and bedroom, Jacuzzis, DVD players and underfloor heating."

Work on the provisionally titled Pavilion is expected to be completed by June 2007, and Blackiston anticipates that rooms will cost about £300 including dinner.

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Outlaw moves to Fowey's Marina
Nathan Outlaw is to take over as head chef at Fowey's Marina Villa hotel, where he will be responsible for its food and beverage operation from November. He will take over the kitchen fully in February, when the hotel's restaurant reopens after closing for a £150,000 refurbishment.

The Marina Villa's 45-seat Waterside restaurant will be rebranded under Outlaw's own name. Outlaw, 26, said: "I'm really excited about the move. It's a very professional outfit."

Outlaw gained Michelin stars for the food at his two previous Cornwall restaurants - the Black Pig in Rock, which he co-owned, and St Ervan Manor near Padstow. He left St Ervan in the summer after the property was put up for sale.