Luxury Devon hotel and fine dining restaurant Gidleigh Park has appointed a new executive head chef to replace Michael Wignall, Andrew Brownsword Hotels has announced.
Chris Simpson (picture above) took over the reins at the two-Michelin star Dartmoor restaurant on January 12.
Having held the position of head chef at the coveted Restaurant Nathan Outlaw in Cornwall for seven years, which has held two Michelin stars since 2011, Chris enjoys a reputation for outstanding cooking with the very best of local ingredients.
He told Luxury Lifestyle Magazine: “It’s a privilege to have been offered the opportunity to take up the reins at Gidleigh Park, somewhere I’ve admired since I very first started cooking.
“Moving with the support of Nathan, I’m excited to be heading up my own kitchen and am ready for this next challenge in my career.
“I’m also delighted to be staying in the south west, to be able to continue to work with all the great local produce and suppliers in our region, and I’m looking forward to working with the talented Gidleigh Park team.”
Stephanie Hocking, chief executive at Andrew Brownsword Hotels, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to announce Chris’ appointment as executive head chef at Gidleigh Park.
“Having long been aware of Chris’s exceptional talent, we were very lucky to secure him as apart from his talent and experience, he shares our vision of serving the ‘very best of Devon’ to our guests at Gidleigh Park.”
Luxury Lifestyle Magazine food and drink editor Natasha Heard has been fortunate enough to sample both Wignall’s and Michael Caines’ (executive head chef between 1995 and 2016) exquisite menus at Gidleigh Park.
