Chef Eric Chavot and owner of Bob Bob Cité Leonid Shutov have announced that Chavot is to leave his post at the critically-lauded City restaurant at the end of January 2020. His departure is for private, family reasons.
Chavot first joined the Bob Bob family in August 2017, taking the helm at the original Soho site Bob Bob Ricard. He has been in charge of the kitchen at its City sibling Bob Bob Cité since it opened in May 2019. The restaurant has received an overwhelmingly positive critical response, with bouquets including:
“…in the privacy of a Bob Bob Cité booth, with such good service and the real world
so very far below, there’s a level of escapism that is wholly seductive. – Grace Dent, The Guardian
“…an utterly singular, stunningly executed blowout.” – Jimi Famurewa, ES Magazine
“The interior, the food, even the bathrooms have the ability to make you stand in awe. This is a dining experience like no other.” – Alex Martin, Elite Traveler
“There’s nowhere in the Square Mile I’d rather eat.” – Steve Dinneen, City AM
Leonid Shutov has paid tribute to Chavot , saying, “Since joining us over two years ago at Bob Bob Ricard and subsequently as chef at Bob Bob Cité, Eric’s culinary genius has shone through in every detail.
“At Bob Bob Ricard he expertly refined our offering, further improving our classic dishes and adding new ones, including vegan dishes which he insisted must be at least as luxurious as everything else on the menu and which have delighted our guests.
“The menu he created for Bob Bob Cité, with his perfectionist’s palate and eye, has proved the perfect culinary offering for the restaurant which, it is well-known, has been my labour of love. I feel we have created something truly special together and Eric leaves a lasting legacy.”
Chavot added, “It has been a great honour and pleasure to oversee the refinement and development of the menus at Bob Bob Ricard and Bob Cité for the past two years and more. I couldn’t be prouder of the hugely enthusiastic welcome Bob Bob Cité has received, not only from critics and the press but more importantly from the thousands of delighted customers we have served since opening.”
“I am leaving the cooking in the capable hands of the teams in both restaurants, who I am confident will maintain the high standards which are rightly expected of the Bob Bob brand.”
A new head chef will be named in due course.
