The Cinnamon Collection – which includes iconic Westminster restaurant The Cinnamon Club, Cinnamon Kitchen, Cinnamon Soho and Cinnamon Bazaar from award-winning chef Vivek Singh – announces a number of promotions as the group expands.
With two new Cinnamon Kitchen restaurants scheduled to open before the end of the year, one in the new Westgate Centre in Oxford this October (the group’s first outside of London) and one in the Battersea Power Station development in November, several team members will take on new roles to grow the current portfolio and support additional sites.
Former Head Chef of The Cinnamon Club Rakesh Ravindran Nair (pictured bottom left), who has been with the group since 2002, has taken on the new role of Group Development and Training Chef. This position will ensure new sites will open to the highest standards and the existing estate will continue to operate at top level, whilst continuing the Cinnamon Collection’s ethos of growing their own talent through investment in learning and development.
Hari Nagaraj (pictured bottom right), who has also been with Vivek and the team for 20 years, will become the Group Operations Manager, having previously worked as Head Chef at The Cinnamon Club.
Group General Manager Jean-Luc Giquel, ex-Nico Group, who has been with the Cinnamon Collection since 2006, will lead the Hospitality ethic, FOH service and training for entire group through their internal Management Training Programmes. Together with Rakesh Ravindran Nair and Hari Nagaraj, Cinnamon Collection will be running several internal training programmes, Management Training, Sous Chef Training and Cinnamon Starts - for Chef De Partie trainees. Apprentice Programmes for both FOH and Kitchen will continue as before.
Raju Ramachandran (pictured top left), former Head Chef at the original Cinnamon Kitchen in the City, will become the Group Opening Chef, focusing on setting up new kitchens, teams and development within the new sites. Santosh Shah, previously Sous Chef at The Cinnamon Club will take over as Head Chef of Cinnamon Kitchen in Devonshire Square.
From the Front of House team, Regison Devassy (pictured top right), former General Manager at The Cinnamon Club, will take on the role of Executive General Manager with a focus on developing the Front of House teams at new sites.
Executive Chef Vivek Singh commented, “The Cinnamon Collection is fortunate to have so many team members that have been with us for years and have grown with the group through several positions. Our people have been our biggest asset and it's only through continuous learning and development that it's been possible. The career progression of our teams is something we’re immensely proud of and it's a commitment we extend to all our people who join us in our next phase of growth. I am delighted to announce these new promotions, they are very well deserved! I look forward to developing The Cinnamon Collection with such a passionate and professional team by my side.”