Simon Radley (born 1965) is a British chef. He is formerly

executive chef A chef de cuisine (, French for ''head of kitchen'') or head chef is a chef that leads Lead is a chemical element with symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead or The Lead may also refer to: Animal handling * Leash, or lead * Lead (leg), ...

of the restaurant Simon Radley at the Chester Grosvenor, known as The Arkle. Part of the

Chester Grosvenor and Spa The Chester Grosvenor Hotel is a hotel in Chester, Cheshire, England. The Grade II listed building was built between 1863 and 1865 and is owned by the Duke of Westminster. The long-standing establishment features an on-site restaurant ...

hotel in the United Kingdom. Following Radley’s departure, the restaurant failed to retain its Michelin star in the 2022 guide after holding it for 30 consecutive years.

Early life and career

Radley was born in 1965 in the English city of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. While still a child, his family moved to

Tring Tring is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Dacorum, Hertfordshire, England. It is situated in a gap passing through the Chiltern Hills, classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, from Central London. Tring is linked to ...

, Hertfordshire, where he lived until he was 16. He then completed a catering course at Crewe College (now known as South Cheshire College) and went to

Mâcon Mâcon (), historically anglicised as Mascon, is a city in east-central France. It is the prefecture of the department of Saône-et-Loire in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Mâcon is home to near 34,000 residents, who are referred to in French as ...

, where he worked as a waiter for three weeks. Upon returning to England, he held a job in

Wilmslow Wilmslow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England, south of Manchester city centre. The population was 24,497 at the 2011 Census. History Toponymy Wilmslow derives its name from Old ...

as a chef, before joining the Chester Grosvenor and Spa as ''

chef de partie A chef de partie, station chef, or line cook is a chef in charge of a particular area of production in a restaurant. In large kitchens, each chef de partie might have several cooks or assistants. In most kitchens, however, the chef de partie is ...

'', in 1986. Noted for having potential as a chef, Radley was encouraged to expand his experience and skills, and he therefore moved to London to work for a year at Inigo Jones, a restaurant in Covent Garden now known as The Forge, and run at the time by celebrity chef Paul Gayler. In 1988, he returned to the Chester Grosvenor and, two years later, the restaurant was awarded its first Michelin star. Radley had further opportunities to expand his skills, spending time abroad in 1991 at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong and the

Mandarin Oriental Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group International Limited (MOHG) is a Hong Kong hotel investment and management group focusing on luxury hotels, resorts, and residences, with a total of 33 properties worldwide, 20 of which are fully or partially ow ...

in Bangkok. Closer to home, in 1994, Radley worked as executive chef at

New Hall Manor New Hall Manor is a medieval manor house, now used as a hotel, in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, England. It is claimed to be one of the oldest inhabited moated houses in Britain,''Walmley and its surroundings'' (Chapter II: ''New Hall, New H ...

in the West Midlands and later at the Nunsmere Hall Hotel in Cheshire.

Career with Chester Grosvenor and Spa

After his four-year absence gaining experience in other establishments, Radley rejoined the Chester Grosvenor and Spa hotel in 1998. As executive chef and director of catering, he oversees all aspects of the hotel's restaurants, menus, and business catering, and recruits and manages a skilled team of chefs, apprentices and waiters. In recognition of Radley's success and expertise, The Arkle was refurbished in the summer of 2008 and renamed Simon Radley at the Chester Grosvenor. In 2009, the restaurant was again awarded a Michelin star, its 19th in as many years and one of only five restaurants in the United Kingdom to have held the distinction for such an extended period. The restaurant failed to retain its Michelin Star in 2022’s guide following an extended period of closure due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

and the departure of Radley. The restaurant is set to reopen in mid 2022 following refurbishment, with Chester-born executive chef Elliot Hill taking the helm.

Notes

External links

Official website of Chester Grosvenor and Spa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Radley, Simon 1965 births Living people English chefs Head chefs of Michelin starred restaurants People educated at South Cheshire College