News in brief DEANES EIPIC TO CLOSE


wine wall with over 200 fine wines and whiskies, and a staircase with a hand-painted mural inspired by Scottish explorers.


BYRON SHRINKS TO NINE RESTAURANTS


TUDDENHAM MILL TEAM LAUNCHES CATERING BUSINESS


The team behind the four- AA-rosette Tuddenham Mill near Newmarket in Suffolk have launched an events catering business that will operate across the UK. Spindle Catering has


Michael Deane


The Michelin-starred Deanes Eipic restaurant in Belfast is to close in January after more than a quarter of a century in business.


Chef Michael Deane blamed the


decision on an “increasing cost sensitivity” among customers that was “out of kilter” with fine dining. The chef opened restaurant Deanes on the Howard Street site in 1997 and it won a Michelin star within a year of opening. It lost the award in 2011 after the venue was closed due to flooding but regained a star as Deanes Eipic in 2015. Deane’s company will relaunch


the venue next year under a new brand designed to focus on value for money.


Deane has informed the Michelin Guide of his decision to relaunch the restaurant.


100 PRINCES STREET HOTEL OPENING DELAYED


Burger chain Byron has seen its number of sites drop to single figures following another round of closures. The group, which was valued at £100m in 2013, permanently shut locations in Norwich and Oxford in October and its Ipswich restaurant in July. It is left with nine restaurants,


in London, Bury St Edmunds, Cambridge, Liverpool, Edinburgh and York. Byron was founded in 2007 by


Tom Byng and has changed hands several times over the past decade. It operated 67 sites before


undergoing several rounds of restructuring and was sold to Famously Proper, a subsidiary of investment firm Calveton, for £4m during the pandemic in 2020. The business was sold in January


when Famously Proper was bought out of administration by Tristar Foods for £856,000.


OLE & STEEN PARTS WAYS WITH CHIEF EXECUTIVE


Red Carnation Hotels has confirmed that the launch of 100 Princes Street in Edinburgh has been pushed back to spring 2024. The opening date for the hotel


group’s first Scottish property had been set for 1 November as of this summer. The luxury hotel collection


acquired the site, which was previously a private members’ club, in 2019 with plans to transform it into an “exclusive retreat” in the style of the group’s Hotel 41 in London. Rates at 100 Princes Street


will start from £330 a night for a luxury classic room on a bed and breakfast basis. Statement features will include


views of Edinburgh Castle from many of the rooms, a centrepiece


8 | The Caterer | 10 November 2023


Danish bakery chain Ole & Steen is on the hunt for a new chief executive following the departure of Jason Cotta after four years in the role. Cotta, a former managing


director of Costa Coffee UK and Ireland, joined the Copenhagen- based group in 2019 ahead of a major expansion push in the UK and overseas. Ole & Steen said Cotta and


its board of directors had jointly www.thecaterer.com


agreed the company needed a chief executive “with a different profile”. The brand trades from over


100 bakeries in Denmark and has opened 26 UK sites since 2016. David Campbell, board chairman


at Ole & Steen, said: “Ole & Steen has been through an intense growth journey over the past five years. The board of directors and Jason Cotta have jointly agreed that a group chief executive with a different profile will be better suited to Ole & Steen’s strategic needs in the future.”


BUBALA EXECUTIVE CHEF HELEN GRAHAM STEPS DOWN


been created by chef patron Lee Bye (left) and restaurant manager Will Reyner (right). Reyner said it would not be a ‘one size fits all’ service but instead offer menus tailored to each event. “It’s bespoke from the


first conversation to the moment the last guest leaves,” said Reyner. “You’ll find less


expensive caterers, but Spindle Catering is about taking the food, drinks and service at outside events to the next level and sprinkling them with the Tuddenham Mill magic.”


The name is inspired by the ‘spindle’, a vital part of the watermill mechanism. Tuddenham Mill’s original spindle is still visible at the hotel.


Helen Graham


Helen Graham has stepped down as executive chef of London restaurant group Bubala after five


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