Tonight:
9°c
Here's the woman who will offer room service at Connaught, Mr Ramsay
Jack Lefley, Evening Standard26.03.08
The Connaught today unveils its new star chef as the hotel completes its nine-month £70million restoration.
Hélène Darroze succeeds Angela Hartnett whose tenure abruptly ended in September when Gordon Ramsay closed his restaurant at the Mayfair hotel in a row over providing room service.
Darroze, who holds two Michelin stars at her restaurant on the Left Bank in Paris, has agreed to "oversee all culinary aspects" of the hotel including "private and in-room dining".
Ramsay was said to have believed that making Hartnett's food available by room service would have compromised its quality and put too many demands on the kitchen.
The modern European-themed restaurant, which drew heavily on Hartnett's Italian roots, had been open for five years and had won a Michelin star in 2004.
Darroze will launch her restaurant, to be known as Hélène Darroze at The Connaught and designed by Paris- based India Mahdavi, in June.
She will also oversee The Gallery, an informal dining venue overlooking Carlos Place, and will be responsible for the revival of the Connaught Grill when it reopens in the autumn.
According to hotel bosses, Darroze will split her time between her two restaurants, but concentrate heavily on the London operation, moving into a flat in Mayfair. She will bring a "dedicated team of experienced staff from her Paris kitchen" to lead a "brigade of local talent".
Commenting on her new role, Darroze said: "Expansion was not particularly on my agenda, but I visited The Connaught and fell in love with the hotel in terms of its history and its philosophy of offering the finest of everything. It felt like a perfect fit."
Darroze's great grandfather was a patissier, and her great grandmother was a cook. Her cuisine is said to concentrate on "regional and seasonal delicacies" which "express the authentic flavours of her native Landes in south-west France". She added: "Each season offers something that enchants and inspires me."
Darroze began her career in 1990 alongside Alain Ducasse when he had just gained his third star for the Louis XV restaurant in Monte Carlo.
She went on to run her family's restaurant in Villeneuve-de-Marsan before opening Hélène Darroze in Paris in 1999. She won her first Michelin star in 2001 and her second in 2003.
The Connaught's renovation includes a redesign of its interiors and rooms. The management says it is intended to bring the hotel "into the 21st century while preserving its authentic elegance, distinct personality and intuitive style of service".
