The Chef Hermes Blog

A New Challenge for Chris Staines

Posted by chefhermes on February 14, 2012 · 4 Comments 

The chef at the heart of this post is probably one of the most written about on chefhermes.com . The initial post which featured him in September 2010, was about him taking a secondment to The Feversham Arms, written prior to any website knowing about it. Subsequently Mr Staines got in touch and agreed to take part in the series of ‘5Questions’.

After the somewhat poor treatment at the hands of Mandarin Oriental in a bid to attract 3Michelin* chef Heston Blumenthal, Mr Staines has been out of the culinary limelight. His new employer after the Foliage/Dinner debacle was the soon to be renovated Heckfield Place.

Joining in January 2010, Mr Staines was to oversee all catering operations, totalling 520 covers. But the future at the Hampshire pile is now unclear, even by Heckfield’s own website. One page declares opening in Summer 2012, then another page says Winter 2012, from an original opening date early 2012. With such uncertainty one could hardly blame Mr Staines for being frustrated. Being a chef who could be forgotten by many in the fast moving world of high end catering. He was one of the youngest chefs in the UK to gain a Michelin star in his own right, going on to amass 5 AA rosettes & two rising Michelin stars.

Mr Staines will move to Ian Taylor’s newly purchased Abbey Hotel in Bath. Mr Taylor who is no stranger to the hotel world, as former owner of Cotswold House & the Noel Arms. Along with his wife, he collected 3 Catey awards, Red stars & 3rosettes from the AA and very briefly, under Jamie Foreman, a rising Michelin star in 2007.

Speaking to Mr Staines he said that the food offering at the Abbey would be

Simple, tasty, international, modern brasserie

and stressed

NOT fine dining

After all, there are already established fine dining destinations in the Bath area; there’s the Michelin starred Lucknam Park & highly rated Bath Priory both covering that end of the spectrum.

I’d like to offer Mr Staines & Mr Taylor all the best for the future in Bath.

Abbey Hotel,

North Parade,

Bath,

Somerset,

BA1 1LF

Update

This afternoon chefhermes.com received an email from the PR firm handling press for The Abbey Hotel:

PRESS RELEASE

14 FEBRUARY 2012

 CHRIS STAINES APPOINTED AS HEAD CHEF AT BATH’S ABBEY HOTEL

 Ex-Michelin Starred chef, Chris Staines has been appointed by Bath’s Abbey Hotel as Head Chef and Food and Beverage Director.  The appointment marks the first step in a £1.5 million modernisation programme recently announced by the hotel’s new owners, husband and wife team Ian and Christa Taylor.

Staines, who was previously Head Chef at Foliage at London’s five-star Mandarin Oriental hotel, will oversee all food and beverage operations at the 60-bedroom hotel with the aim being to revitalise the hotel’s entire food offering, transforming both the menu and over time, the look and feel of the restaurant.   The ultimate vision is to create a “stand alone” restaurant which will carve its own identity on the Bath dining scene.

He joins the property from Heckfield Place in Hampshire, where Staines held the position of Executive Chef.  Prior to that, Staines was tasked with revamping the Food and Beverage operations at the Feversham Arms in Yorkshire which recently achieved its third AA rosette.

At the Abbey, Staines will work closely with Ian Taylor to deliver the vision of creating a modern, informal, bistro-style food offering with a key focus on simple cooking using high quality ingredients.

Taylor’s ultimate aim is to create a food and beverage offering that will predominantly serve the local community.  He said: “When I took over the Abbey, my plan was to make some changes to the hotel to make it more attractive to local people as much as to the tourist market.  The restaurant is an ideal starting point.  With Chris’s involvement, I’m confident the bar and restaurant at the Abbey have the potential to become an affordable “go-to” destination for people living in Bath whether they are looking for after work drinks and nibbles or something more substantial.”

Staines added: “There’s a huge opportunity in Bath for a mid-market restaurant that offers gastronomic quality with a relaxed, cool and contemporary feel.  Bath and the surrounding areas have fantastic suppliers and I’m keen to start working with them to create an offering that people living in Bath will be genuinely excited about.”

Staines held a Michelin star at Foliage for seven years, leaving the Mandarin Oriental in 2009.  He previously worked with Marco Pierre White at the three-Michelin-starred Oak Room.  Staines is due to start at The Abbey in early March.