Matthew Wilkinson named food and beverage director at Raffles London at the OWO

Matthew Wilkinson has taken over from Mark Hastings as director of food and beverage at Raffles London at the OWO in London’s Whitehall.

Hastings, who is now director of operations at the Broadwick Soho, announced his departure from Raffles on Instagram in February after roughly 18 months in the role.

He posted: “Following the hugely successful launch of the F&B at Raffles London at the OWO, the time has come for me to move onto my next challenge. It’s been quite a journey, I’m hugely proud of the achievement, and thanks again the amazing team who have made it possible.”

Raffles London at the OWO opened in September 2023 with an extensive F&B offering, which included Café Laperouse, Paper Moon and three outlets from chef Mauro Colagreco, who owns the three-Michelin-starred Mirazur in Menton.  

However, in December 2023, both Café Laperouse and Paper Moon were criticised for receiving one out of five ratings for food hygiene after inspectors found “major improvement” was necessary.

Both restaurants have since achieved a five-star rating.

The hotel and the adjoining OWO dining destination recently grew to its full capacity (nine restaurants and three bars) following the launch of chef Endo Kazutoshi’s Kioku by Endo (pictured) last month.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Wilkinson joined Raffles as assistant director of food and beverage in September 2022 from his events operations manager role at Hotel Café Royal in London’s Mayfair.

Prior to that, he was beverage manager at JW Marriott Grosvenor House London and events operations manager at the Maybourne Hotel Group.