Horwood House Hotel & Spa in Buckinghamshire is pleased to announce the appointment of Mehdi Amiri as Executive Chef.
Amiri joins the Grade II-listed Manor House from his previous role as a consultant chef for privately owned luxury estates, post an extensive £20m redevelopment.
As Executive Chef, Amiri will lead the hotel’s entire culinary operations, overseeing room-service, afternoon tea, conference and banqueting as well as the launch of two new distinct dining concepts.
Harry’s Bar & Kitchen, opening with the rest of the hotel, will offer a seasonally led British menu showcasing locally sourced and home-grown ingredients with refined destination restaurant opening later this year.
Amiri will also be putting sustainability and local ingredients at the heart of the F&B and will be responsible for cultivating the hotel’s kitchen garden and sourcing the best quality ingredients from Buckinghamshire and the surrounding counties.
Originally from Oxfordshire, Amiri brings 20 years of culinary experience to the role, having worked in the kitchens of the Michelin-starred Restaurant Gordon Ramsay and Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, as well as a number of country house hotels including Dormy House Hotel & Spa, Swinton Park Hotel & Spa (3AA Rosettes) and Wynyard Hall.
He has also travelled and worked extensively through Europe, Australia and the Middle East where he was Executive Development Chef for Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi.
Amiri commented, 'It’s an incredibly exciting time to be joining Horwood House. Significant investment in the entire property and the focus on developing the F&B offering means I can play a part in the repositioning of the hotel, establishing the dining concepts as destination restaurants.'
Karim Kassam, Owner of Horwood House, added “We are delighted to welcome Mehdi on board. His appointment comes at a significant time for Horwood, and his vision and commitment for the hotel’s two F&B concepts supports our plans to make Horwood House one of the finest country house hotels in the UK.”