Key People
David Loewi
Managing Director
David has accumulated over twenty five years experience in hotels and restaurants. After completing a postgraduate in Swiss Hotel Training, David worked for three years with the Savoy Group at Claridge’s. In 1984 he joined the Hyatt Group where he rose to the position of Food and Beverage Director at Hyatt Carlton Tower in London, he also worked in Hyatt’s Far East operations. David joined the group in 1995 to launch Mezzo and following the successful establishment of this restaurant was appointed to Managing Director in 1998.
Adam Bellamy
Finance Director
Adam joined the group in 2006 from House of Fraser plc where he was Head of Commercial Finance. This role involved responsibility for acquisitions and strategic financial planning for this £1 billion turnover group. A qualified accountant with a wealth of retail experience, his previous roles include that of Financial Planning Manager for Allders Department Stores.
Ian Horrox
Human Resources Director
Ian started his career with Hilton, joining its graduate development programme from Leeds Met University where he studied Hotel Management. He progressed to become General Manager at the age of 25, moving on to become Director of Brand Development and then Director of Quality. After winning an Acorn Award he was promoted to Head of UK Human Resources for Hilton International (UK). Ian joined Conran Restaurants in 1999 and in his role as Human Resources Director has launched the company’s chef apprenticeship programme and management development scheme, Elevate.
Max Renzland
Food Development Director
Max joined the group in 2005 following a number of years as a consultant in food, menu development and conceptual design for both the corporate and private sectors. He has been influential in the development of a number of London’s most important restaurants, including Le Petit Max and Chez Max – a joint venture with Marco Pierre White – as well as working on international projects such as Café Grand Prix in Monte Carlo where he was a consultant and shareholder.
OUR MANAGERS
Nicolas Mori
Manager, Kensington Place
Nicolas joined Kensington Place in March 2008 from his position as Acting Restaurant Manager at Rhodes W1. Previously he worked as Restaurant Manager at La Noisette and Assistant Manager at The Greenhouse.
Hadi Aknin
Manager, Launceston Place
Hadi joined in February 2008, from his position of Assistant Manager at Michelin starred Petrus. Hadi also has hotel experience having worked at the 5 star hotel group'One & Only Royal Mirage' in Dubai, having previously worked with the Conran group between 1999 and 2003 at Le Pont de la Tour.
Duncan Colbeck
Manager, Cantina
Duncan joined Cantina in January 2008, having previously worked at Butlers Wharf as Assistant Manager from 2005 to 2007, and prior to that he gained experience as Bar&Grill supervisor at Pont de la Tour from 2002.
William Douglas McKechnie
Manager, Blueprint Cafe
William joined Blueprint Café in September 2007 from his role as Senior Assistant Manager at Paternoster Chop House, where he worked since 2001
Cedric Toussaint
Manager, Skylon
Cedric joined Skylon in May 2007 from his position as Restaurant and Bar Manager at Harvey Nichols Fifth Floor restaurant, where he worked since 2005. Cedric has extensive experience in London and abroad, having previously worked at Michelin starred restaurant, Marcus Wareing at The Savoy Grill, London and prior to this the French Embassy in Bogotà.
Pascal Signe
Manager, The Avenue
Pascal joined the group in June 2007 with the acquisition of Image restaurants. He has worked at The Avenue since November 2006, having previously overseen the opening of La Noisette for Gordon Ramsay and worked with Richard Corrigan. Prior to this he spent over fifteen yeards in New York managing renowned restaurants such as Picoline and Daniel Boulud DB Bistro.
Anders Baath
General Manager, Custom House
Anders Baath joined Custom House in October 2007, from his role as General Manager for the acquired group Image Restaurants. With an extensive background in restaurant management consultancy, Anders was previously General Manager at Stockholm’s acclaimed Restaurant Kungsholmen.
Michel Besmond
General Manager, Alcazar
Michel joined Alcazar in 1996, overseeing its opening in 1997 followed by the opening of the Wagg Club in 2002. Michel has a strong artistic background working as a First Assistant Director in the television industry and in fashion promotions, before moving into the field of hospitality.
Michael Clark
General Manager, Le Pont de la Tour
Michael joined Le Pont de la Tour in July 2007. Michael previously worked within the group between 1998 and 2007 as Restaurant Manager for Sartoria and Coq d'Argent and has extensive hospitality experience in both London and his home country of New Zealand.
Giuseppe De Wilde
Manager, Bluebird
Giuseppe joined Bluebird in July 2007. Giuseppe has worked within the group since 2002 as General Manager at Le Pont de la Tour. Prior to this he was General Manager at Bentley's Seafood Restaurant.
Sean Gavin
General Manager, Coq d'Argent
Sean joined Coq d’Argent in 2005 from Butlers Wharf Chop House. Prior to this he worked with Bewley’s Oriental Café in Dublin as Assistant General Manager and with Antony Worrall Thompson Restaurants.
Niels Kristensen
General Manager - Bluebird, Cantina del Ponte, Blueprint Cafe and Butlers Wharf Chop House
Niels joined the group in 2000 as manager of the Butlers Wharf Gastrodrome, taking on the additional role of General Manager for Bluebird in 2005. His previous experience includes working within the prestigious Berkeley and Sheraton Hotels as Food and Beverage Manager.
Sascha Kurz
General Manager, Quaglino's
Sascha joined Quaglino’s in 2005 from the Westbury Hotel where he held the role of Director of Food and Beverage. Previously he has worked in Hungary, Germany and Beijing.
Spero Panagakis
Manager, Paternoster Chop House
Spero joined Paternoster Chop House in 2004 from Quaglino’s where he held the position of Restaurant Manager for three years.
Bertrand Pierson
General Manager - Plateau and Orrery
Bertrand joined Plateau at its opening in October 2003 from Vong restaurant in The Berkeley Hotel, London, where he was General Manager for three years. In addition to Plateau, Bertrand took responsibility for Orrery restaurant in 2006.
Duncan Pitfield
General Manager - The Royal Exchange and Skylon
Duncan joined The Royal Exchange in 2005 from his role as Executive Director of Food and Beverage at the Lanesborough Hotel. Prior to that he was Deputy General Manager at The Chesterfield, Mayfair.
Melissa Schmidt
Manager, Butlers Wharf Chop House
Melissa joined the group in 1995, working at Le Pont de la Tour prior to taking on her current role as Restaurant Manager at Butlers Wharf Chop House. Melissa has extensive hospitality experience in both London and her home country of Australia.
Graziano Arricale
Manager, Almeida
Graziano joined Almeida in October 2007 from his role as Assistant Restaurant Manager at Le Pont de la Tour restaurant which also belongs to D&D London. Graziano joined the Group in September 2005 through winning a place on the Elevate Management programme.
OUR CHEFS
Andy Rose
Executive Chef, Flordita
Andy joined Floridita in October 2004 from Mezzo where he was Executive Chef.
After cutting his teeth in the kitchens of Anton Mossiman’s London club, Andy spent much of his early career in Switzerland working the kitchens of some of the country’s leading hotels before returning to London.
Brian Fantoni
Head Chef, Cantina
Brian joined Cantina del Ponte in Autumn 2007 from his role as Head Chef at Enoteca Turi in Putney, London. Previously, Brian has over twelve years expereince in hotel kitchens including Claridge's and The Savoy in London.
Helena Puolakka
Executive Chef, Skylon
Helena joined Skylon in May 2007 from Harvey Nichols' Fifth Floor where she worked as Executive Chef since 2005. Helena has worked at a number of high profile London restaurants such as Aubergine and La Tante Claire.
Henry Vigar
Head Chef, Kensington Place
Henry joined Kensington Place in January 2008, having previously worked in a number of Michelin starred restaurants such as La Noisette and The Greenhouse in London and Hotel des Pyrenees in France, amongst others.
Richard Bannister
Head Chef, The Avenue
Richard joined the group in June 2007 with the acquisition of Image restaurants. He joined The Avenue in March 2006, having previously worked as Sous Chef at The Ivy and J Sheekey. Prior to this he developed his banquet and catering experience with Claridge’s and Savoy hotels.
Tristan Welch
Head Chef, Launceston Place
Tristan joined Launceston Place in Autumn 2007, having previously worked as Head Chef at the two Michelin starred Petrus in The Berkeley Hotel. Tristan has forged a great reputation in some of the top kitchens in the UK and Paris including Le Gavroche and Aubergine in London; l'Arpège in Paris and Box Tree in Yorkshire.
Alan Marchetti
Head Chef, Sartoria
Alan joined Sartoria from his role as Head Chef at the Drones Club Mayfair, having previously worked in some of London’s finest Italian restaurants. He acquired a wealth of experience from working in Michelin starred restaurants in Rome, such as La Pergola.
Alan Jones
Head Chef, Almeida
Alan joined Almeida in June 2007 from his role as Senior Sous Chef at the Relais and Chateaux hotel, Lucknam Park in Bath. Alan has specialised in fine dining , having worked in some of England’s most acclaimed restaurants and hotels such as Foliage in London’s Mandarin Oriental.
Mark Broadbent
Executive Chef, Bluebird
Mark joined Bluebird in 2004 from Isola where he was Head Chef. During his time there he worked closely with Oliver Peyton and the Inn on the Park to establish new projects.
Craig James
Head Chef, Quaglino's
Craig joined Quaglino’s in 2006 from Butlers Wharf Chop House where he was Head Chef for three years. There he developed a strong following, spearheading the use of rare native fruits in his cooking and re-invigorating many historic recipes.
Darren Kerley
Head Chef, Restaurant Sauterelle
Darren joined Sauterelle in January 2007 from his role as Senior Sous Chef at Le Pont de la Tour. His career in food started at Rick Stein’s Seafood restaurant in Padstow as a Saturday boy and has seen him work in some of London’s top restaurants including The Dorchester, OXO Tower, Mirabelle and Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons.
Jeremy Lee
Head Chef, Blueprint Cafe
Jeremy joined Blueprint Café in 1995 as Head Chef from Euphorium and Alastair Little. During his time at Blueprint Café he has been instrumental in the creation of a unique cooking style using frequently changing seasonal ingredients cooked and served simply.
Simon Levy
Head Chef, Royal Exchange
Simon joined The Royal Exchange in 2007 bringing with him a wealth of experience from landmark London venues including Claridge's Hotel and The Ivy.
Xavier Nicolau
Head Chef, Meza
Xavier joined Meza in Summer 2008 from Unicornius, Barcelona, where he was Head Chef for two years. Mallorcan born, Xavier's previous experience has been based in Mallorca in a number of well regarded restaurants.
Tim Tolley
Head Chef, Plateau
Tim joined Plateau at its opening in 2003 from Vong restaurant in The Berkeley Hotel, London, where he held the role of Head Chef. Since then he has created a refreshing approach to creative cooking using innovative ingredients.
Lee Bennett
Head Chef, Le Pont de la Tour
Lee joined Le Pont de la Tour in January 2008 from his role of Head Chef at the Savoy Grill, Savoy Hotel, in London. Lee has a varied professional background, having worked in such acclaimed restaurants as Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, London and Restaurant Pierre Gagnaire, Paris.
Peter Weeden
Head Chef, Paternoster Chop House
Peter joined Paternoster Chop House in 2004 at its opening from Coq D’Argent. He has a passionate interest in wild food and has created menus featuring high quality, well reared meat and British caught fish.
Mickael Weiss
Head Chef, Coq d'Argent
Mickael joined Coq d'Argent as Executive Chef in 2000 and during this time he has also been instrumental in the kitchen design and menu development for the opening of The Royal Exchange and Paternoster Chop House. Mickael has also appeared in a number of British televised cooking shows including 'Kitchen' and 'Master Chef'.
Winston Matthews
Head Chef, Butlers Wharf Chop House
Winston joined Butlers Wharf Chop House in August 2008 from the Paul Rankin Group in Belfast where he worked as Executive Head Chef. Previously, Winston was Chef Patron of his own restaurant, Red in Berkshire. Prior to this, for nine years Winston was a Director and Head Chef at Le Palais du Jardin in Covent Garden, London, which he helped open and launch.
OUR OFFICES
Our offices in Kirby Street, Farringdon house our head office departments: finance, purchasing, sales and marketing and HR and our Chairman and Chief Executive and Managing Director
Key contact details are shown below:
Head Office
16 Kirby Street
London
EC1N 8TS
Telephone: 020 7716 0716
Chairman and Chief Executive's Office
Vicky Middleton
Email: vickym@danddlondon.com
Managing Director's Office
Francesca Smilgin Box
Email: francescasb@danddlondon.com
Purchasing
Jane Moyses
Email: janem@danddlondon.com
PR and Marketing Officer
Annabelle Tilley
Email: annabellet@danddlondon.com
HR and Employment
Anne Avery
Email: annea@danddlondon.com
Sales and Events
Frances Dore
Telephone: 020 7716 7887
Email: events@danddlondon.com