CODE Bulletin Catch Up

Catch up on the latest industry news stories of the week from the CODE Bulletin

Audrey’s

A new all-day café and bar called Audrey’s will open on London’s Bankside at the end of this month. The team said the site is “steeped in local history” and will “favour British, organic and sustainably sourced produce”. General manager Kyle Shannon Lindsay said in a press release that Audrey’s is inspired by modern bistros, with a simple and concise menu sitting alongside wines from independent, biodynamic, and organic producers – the Holy Trinity. “With a location that’s hard to beat, a short hop from Borough Market and with a wealth of Bankside cultural activities on our doorstep, we are eager to flip the open sign on this new addition to the capital’s dining scene”, he said.

Small plates

Mission Kitchen is launching a new events space at its Covent Garden Market home. Each space will be geared towards kitchens and businesses looking to take the next step in their development, whether to work on new menu ideas or launch delivery products.

The news that Israeli street food brand Miznon is coming to London is finally out. The group, founded in Tel Aviv in 2011 and already well established in the likes of Paris and New York, will replace a Pret on Broadwick Street later this year. Lots more to come.  Healthy lunch brand atis is opening a third site. A branch on Pembridge Road in Notting Hill will follow Shoreditch and Eccleston Yard. “Notting Hill is a real humdrum of activity and we’re very much looking forward to being part of the community,” said co-founder Eleanor Warder. “We’re really looking forward to opening our doors and welcoming everyone who comes through them.”

Rest of UK and International

Côte

Remember Côte? It’s still knocking about, and has just launched a new menu under the stewardship of Steve Allen, former head chef at Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s. Allen’s menu includes updates of long-standing dishes, as well as new items, including a monkfish and mussel stew reflecting the cuisine of northern France. The group’s “signature Côte de Boeuf”, meanwhile, will now be aged for 30 days in a Himalayan rock salt aging room (shout-out to the meat master Peter Hannan), and served with a truffle-hollandaise sauce which Côte eagerly trumpeted will be “prepared daily from scratch” every day. Allen said: “We’ve looked at our classics and thought about ways to offer regular guests an elevated take on their favourites.” The move comes as part of a wider overhaul of the brand, with a redesign of the restaurants based on “contemporary and elegant French-inspired” interiors. 

Maybourne 

The owner of some of London’s most prestigious hotels has appointed joint chief executives as part of a company shake-up. Maybourne, which owns Claridge’s, The Connaught and The Berkeley in the capital, has named Marc Socker and Gianluca Muzzi as joint-chief executives with immediate effect, The Times reported this morning. 

People

Corbin & King

All who follow hospitality news will be aware that Corbin & King has been lost. Friday morning’s auction was won by the American-born, Thai billionaire William Heinecke’s Minor International, which is understood to have paid more than £60m for the business. Minor had previously owned 74 per cent of Corbin & King and in January forced the company into administration because of a dispute over debt. After the news broke, tributes to Chris Corbin and Jeremy King, who founded the restaurant group in 1981, peppered social media. Among those to praise their success were the likes of Nigella Lawson, Jeremy Clarkson, and Stephen Fry. Many others in or connected to the industry have since implied they will not return to the restaurants. What comes next? Some have suggested Corbin & King will start anew. We hope so. For now, much is uncertain. All we know is breakfast at The Wolseley will never be the same.

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