Member Article

Award-winning Stratford restaurant appoints new head chef

An award-winning hotel restaurant in Stratford-upon-Avon has appointed a new head chef.

Lee Cresswell has taken the reins at 2 AA Rosette restaurant No 44 Brasserie – which is part of The Arden Hotel on Waterside – in his hometown of Stratford.

The move marks his first appointment as a head chef, having worked his way to the top after starting in the industry aged just 16.

He said: “As a local lad I am really pleased to be here at The Arden and take my first step as head chef – I feel I am ready for it.

“I have been lucky enough to have had some great mentors along the way and their advice has helped mould me into the chef I am today.

“I’m really excited to get going and can’t wait to bring new flavours to Stratford.”

Lee started in the industry fresh out of college aged just 16, beginning as a commis chef at the Evesham Hotel before moving on to become a chef de partie.

He then spent eight years in the Cotswolds, which included roles at Buckland Manor as a chef de partie, Dormy House Hotel and Spa in Broadway – part of the Farncombe estate – and its sister hotel The Fish as a junior sous chef, working his way up to become sous chef.

During his 18-month stay at The Fish he worked alongside culinary director and two Michelin star chef Martin Burge and executive chef Jon Ingram, as it reinvented itself as a fish and seafood restaurant and gained two AA rosettes within the first six weeks of opening

His next role saw him move to his hometown of Stratford working at Michelin-starred 3 AA rosette Salt under the stewardship of chef Paul Foster, before returning to The Fish as senior sous chef.

Lee, who is originally from Evesham but has spent the last 10 years living in Stratford, will be working among a team of five staff at No 44 Brasserie to introduce new seasonal dishes – and hopes to take fine dining to the next level in Stratford.

He added: “Stratford has a growing food scene with so many different cultural offers – from Indian, Greek, to Chinese – alongside traditional English pubs and cocktail bars.

“There’s an emerging fine dining scene right now and we hope to take that up a level here at The Arden with some exciting plans for No 44 Brasserie in the coming months.

“My style is all about modern food. It is cool, playful, fresh and seasonal.

“I just like to play around with things. I am one of those people who just really likes to cook food and have a happy team around me.”

The 45-bed Arden Hotel is a luxury four-star boutique hotel in the heart of the historic Stratford-upon-Avon, and is part of the award-winning Eden Hotel Collection.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Joyce .