Phil Fanning buys Paris House
Chef Phil Fanning has bought Paris House, Bedfordshire's only Michelin-starred restaurant, following the liquidation of Paris House Restaurant Ltd.
The restaurant, set in 22 acres of deer park on Duke of Bedford's estate at Woburn, will now be managed as a family business by Fanning and his wife Claire, backed by father-in-law and businessman Nik Millard.
Fanning joined Paris House in 2010 and rose through the ranks, having started his career as a finalist on the BBC's Junior MasterChef as a young teenager in 1997. He then went on to work at Danesfield House, the Compleat Angler and the Vanilla Pod. In 2011, he received a Caterer and Hotelkeeper Acorn Award, which recognises future stars of the hospitality industry under 30.
Just three years after joining L'Ortolan restaurant as a junior chef de partie in 2007, he was appointed head chef of Paris House. Within a year Fanning had won a Michelin star, three AA rosettes and 5/10 in the Good Food Guide.
Fanning said: "I have enjoyed three fantastic years as head chef at Paris House during which time the restaurant has won numerous awards including a Michelin star. I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to own and run it as a family business and I am fortunate to be backed by a very talented and creative team. Together we look forward to further developing our menus and welcoming yet more customers through our doors."
Paris House was formerly owned by the 10 in 8 Fine Dining Group but was sold after one of its subsidiaries, Paris House Restaurant Ltd, entered liquidation owing more than £400,000 to creditors.
It followed the liquidation in November 2013 of Alan Murchison Restaurants Ltd, which previously operated L'Ortolan in Berkshire, itself once part of 10 in 8.
Alan Murchison Restaurants Ltd in liquidation >>
