Joe Lutrario

Gunpowder founder Harneet Baweja and The Begging Bowl founder Jane Alty will launch a Thai fried chicken concept in London’s Spitalfields Market later this spring. Set for a May launch, Fortune Fried Chicken will serve a type of fried chicken that is popular in Bangkok made by marinating pieces of the bird overnight in a blend of soy, fish sauce, garlic and coriander before lightly coating it with rice flour and deep-frying it slowly creating a thin, crispy skin while keeping the meat tender and juicy.

Soho’s Humble Chicken has closed for a three-month £1m refit that its chef patron Angelo Sato hopes will help it secure a third Michelin star following its promotion from one to two stars last month. Known for its distinctive Japanese-European cuisine and chef’s table setup, the Frith Street restaurant is expected to reopen its doors in early May. 

Highly-rated Islington restaurant Trullo will launch a three-month residency at Knightsbridge department store Harvey Nichols early next month. Created by chef owner Conor Gadd, the menu will be built around Trullo’s core of regional Italian dishes with options including chopped beef fillet with rosemary and anchovy; grilled asparagus with butter and bottarga; beef shin ragu; and pici cacio e pepe.

The Roux Family has revealed the names of the 18 chefs who will take part in the regional finals for The Roux Scholarship 2025. This year, 14 of the 18 finalists are new to the high-profile competition and come from some of the UK’s best known places to eat including Hélène Darroze at The Connaught, Hélène Darroze at The Connaught and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay.

London’s Chiltern Firehouse hotel will remain closed until further notice following what looks to have been a devastating fire on Friday evening (14 February). 100 guests were evacuated from the Marylebone fivep-star, which is an A-list favourite counting the likes of Lady Gaga, Tom Cruise and Johnny Depp as regulars.

Chef David Taylor will launch a second restaurant at luxury West Midlands hotel Hampton Manor later this month. Kynd has been conceived as a more casual counterpoint to the 23-bedroom property’s Michelin-starred Grace & Savour, which launched in 2022 and is currently listed on Restaurant’s list of the top 100 restaurants in the UK.

Restaurant networking organisation Ladies of Restaurants (LOR) will host a ‘one-day celebration of hospitality’ next month in London.

A new report has highlighted barriers to career progression for ethnically diverse talent in hospitality. According to Be Inclusive Hospitality’s Careers in Hospitality: Removing Barriers to Progression report, the proportion of high earners has declined across all ethnicities, with Black and Asian employees experiencing ‘particularly sharp’ declines.

Fine dining veteran Jun Tanaka has penned a manifesto that underpins the culture at his Michelin-starred Fitzrovia restaurant The Ninth.

The founder of biodynamic importer Dynamic Vines on working with Marco Pierre White, 50-year-old VDF and his recently launched East Dulwich wine bar.