Elly Wentworth to join the Angel in Dartmouth
Chef Elly Wentworth will be joining the Angel in Dartmouth as head chef next month after three years at Lucknam Park.
She replaces Jody Shaw at the 45-cover Devon restaurant, who had been brought in to help relaunch the restaurant following a refurbishment in March. The restaurant will be closing for a week from 11 September ahead of the relaunch under Wentworth.
The Angel will initially offer an a la carte menu, with a tasting menu due to be added later this year. The focus is on Devon produce such as meat from local farmers such as the Dartmoor Shepherd as well as native Devon breeds like Greyface and Longwool, and fish from the nearby fish markets.
"In this 20-mile radius we've got an abundance of fantastic produce, and that's what the Angel is all about," said catering manager Matt Palmer.
Palmer and the team are keen for the restaurant to develop and promote female chefs - four out of six are female - and honour the legacy of chef Joyce Molyneux, who opened the restaurant as the Carved Angel in 1974 and was one of the first women to receive a Michelin star there.
"I hope Elly will achieve all the goals she has with the Angel. She's determined to achieve what she wants to achieve," added Palmer.
Wentworth told The Caterer:
Wentworth joined the five-red-AA-star, 42-bedroom Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa in Colerne, Wiltshire in 2015 as chef de partie and worked her way up to sous chef under executive chef Hywel Jones.
She added: "Hywel is one of the best chefs I've ever worked for - he's not just a good chef he's an amazing manager. I've learned so much over the last three years. I will be very sad to leave Lucknam but I know there will always be a place in my heart for him and for Lucknam."
Wentworth was one of three finalists in BBC Two's MasterChef: The Professionals in 2016, as well as making it to the finals of Young National Chef of the Year and winning one of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts' Annual Awards of Excellence that same year. She previously worked as a commis chef at Simon Hulstone's Elephant restaurant in Torquay.
The Carved Angel was relaunched as the New Angel under John Burton-Race in 2004 and awarded a Michelin star one year later, however it fell into administration in 2008 and Burton-Race left in 2010.
The 10 in 8 Group took over running the restaurant that year but closed it in March 2013. The property is now owned by the Holland Group.
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