Steven Harris joins The Royal Hotel as new Head Chef

Stuart Nuttall shares exciting news of new Head Chef, Steven Harris. Ed


The Royal Hotel is delighted to announce the appointment of its new Head Chef, Steven Harris.

Steven, who is originally from the Island, joins us from the prestigious Lords of the Manor in the Cotswolds, where he worked as Senior Sous Chef and played a critical role in earning that establishment a Michelin Star, 3 AA Rosettes and a place in the Top 50 of the Sunday Times Food List 2012.

Ambitious plans
Managing Director, William Bailey said, “We were obviously absolutely thrilled to have been able to recruit someone of Steven’s pedigree to the Royal. We are proud of the reputation for excellent food that we have managed to achieve and maintain.

“As you know, we have held two AA Rosettes for excellent food consistently over the last 15 years. Our ambition is to improve the quality of our food still further, and in Steven Harris I believe we have found the right person to help us do that.”

“I have enormous passion for what I do”
Steven Harris is relishing the challenge ahead of him, he said, “I have already been at the Royal for the last six weeks and I am hugely excited about the opportunity and the challenge ahead of me.

“Obviously the Royal is a very special hotel, its heritage goes back 180 years, it has been listed in every Michelin Guide since it was first published more than a century ago and it was the first hotel on the Island to achieve Four AA Stars. I know that I have a big responsibility on my shoulders, but I also know that I have a fantastic brigade of experienced chefs and I have enormous passion for what I do.”

Afternoon delight
But the Royal’s ambitions do not stop there. We are investing in new equipment for our kitchen and we are currently working with Frenchman Denis Drame, the Head Pastry Chef at Pennyhill Park, to develop our Afternoon Teas. Pennyhill Park holds four AA Rosettes, five Red Stars and one Michelin Star.

In 2012 it was awarded the “Top City & Country Hotel Tea Award”. We aim to produce the best Afternoon Teas on the South Coast and with Denis’s help, we think we can achieve that.