National food blogger, Chef Hermes, has revealed this morning that “the man at the helm for The Hambrough” will be chef Darren Beevers.
Isle of Wight food bloggers, Matt and Cat, tweeted the link this morning. OnTheWight put a call into The Hambrough to clarify the details.
Not confirmed
The spokesperson from The Hambrough refused to confirm or deny whether Darren Beevers had been appointed.
She claimed that staff had not been informed of the appointment and no announcement would be made until The Hambrough were certain that the appointment was water-tight.
Chef Hermes says the new chef, “does seem to fit the bill as somebody that could potentially retain the all important French tyre maker’s star.”
What do we know about Darren Beevers?
With The Hambrough keeping tight-lipped, we don’t know if it’s definitely Darren Beevers joining the Hambrough, or if it is Darren, if the Darren Beevers we’ve found on LinkedIn is him. Reading through his background, it looks highly possible.
This Darren Beevers lists his current position as ‘Corporate Chef at Pollen St Social’ on his LinkedIn account. The Pollen St Social describes itself as “a contemporary bistro offering deformalised dining”.
Prior to that he’s held the position of Head Chef at the 1 Michelin Starred Club Gascon, where he was for nearly three years.
Before that he was Sous Chef at Le Poussin for nine months, again a one Michelin star restaurant. The venue he was at before then was The Capital Hotel, a five Star hotel with two Michelin stars – service just over two years.
The final role listed is as Senior Chef de Partie at Chez Bruce between May 2006 – June 2007, again the holder of a Michelin star
Withdrawal of John Campbell
The news follows the breakdown of the deal that was to see Chef John Campbell ‘acquire’ The Hambrough, The Pond, Villa Lavinia and the Ventnor Winter Gardens.
This was hot on the heels of the unexpected announcement in April that Robert Thompson, the chef who earned the restaurant its first Michelin Star would be leaving the Island.
The new Chef Patron for The Pond Cafe in Bonchurch was revealed last week to be Chris Denney. He’ll be joined by Joe Gould, previously of Coworth Park, as his Senior Sous.
It’s understood that Robert Thompson cooked his ‘Last Supper’ at The Hambrough on the evening of 16 May 2013.
Source: Blog by Chef Hermes
