Monday Bulletin: Darjeeling Express | Chuku’s | Endo Kazutoshi

Catch up on the latest industry news stories of the week from the CODE Bulletin

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CODE’S 30 UNDER 30

CODE is delighted to announce its 30 under 30, Class of 2026. This year’s cohort is made up of talented young individuals from across the industry, representing hospitality at its most creative, progressive, and ambitious. These next generation stars can be found toiling away in kitchens and dining rooms, wine cellars and bakeries, bars and back offices, with a social media manager, an advocacy manager, and a creative director among their number, reflecting the sheer diversity of roles found in hospitality today. We’re tipping them all to achieve great things. And if this year’s list proves anything, it’s that the future of hospitality is in very good hands – and this will not be the last time you hear their names. View the full list here.

LE MANOIR AUX QUAT’SAISONS

Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, A Belmond Hotel, Oxfordshire, has appointed Arnaud Donckele as its new culinary director. The French chef, who holds three Michelin stars at La Vague d’Or and Plénitude, calls the appointment “a profound honour”.

CHUKU’S

Chuku’s in Tottenham, one of CODE’s Happiest Places To Work, is inviting strangers to gather around the table this winter with a series of complimentary dinners to combat loneliness and breach generational divide. Apply for a spot here.

DARJEELING EXPRESS

Asma Khan is on the move again, taking her all-female team with her. Darjeeling Express is to relocate this year from Kingly Court to its fourth and largest home yet: the former Hovarda site on Rupert Street, part of the Shaftesbury Capital portfolio.

• Endo Kazutoshi is moving into Annabel’s in Mayfair for five months, following the fire at Endo at the Rotunda last year. Here’s the waiting list for February and March.
  
  
• Luke Selby is now officially two weeks into his role at Palé Hall near Snowdonia, with the estate’s pub The Bryntirion Inn open for business. He tells CODE what to expect.
  
  
• Roberta Hall-McCarron’s Eleanore in Edinburgh will return on 26 February with a new look and new price point. Out go tasting menus, in come set menus from £26-£43.
  
  
• Inception Group has announced it will open a new flagship for its Mr Fogg’s Tavern brand in Covent Garden’s Market Building this summer.
  
  
• A new café celebrating Welsh produce is heading for Peckham. Bara opens on 14 February (soft launch, with 50% off food, on 12-13 February).
  
  
• Heard Burger and Akoko are teaming up. Their limited edition Akoko burger with tamarind jam and sosu kaani hits the menu at Heard Borough and Soho on 1 March.
  
  
• Six Senses, the new luxury wellness hotel going in to The Whiteley, Bayswater has an opening date: 1 March 2026.
  
  
• Sessions Arts Club is launching a new weekly residency programme, Sundays at Sessions. The series kicks off with Jago Rackham on 8 February.
  
  
• Shoreditch’s legendary Light Bar is coming back. The venue relaunches under Rob Star (Electric Star Pubs) with ex-Rogues head chef Jake Ayliffe on 1 February.
  
  
  

WHAT WE’RE READING

30 under £30: our pick of the dinner deals for Restaurant Month: The Good Food Guide

Gordon Ramsay: Labour’s policies are pushing restaurants over the edge – I’ve never seen it so bad: The Standard

The best chef you’ve never heard of: Observer

Checking in, selling out: from the Cotswolds to Lake Como, even the most under-the-radar boutique hotels are being swept up in the Marriott-Hyatt-Hilton industrial complex: Airmail

THE DUMBWAITER

Oh, to have been a fly on the wall at that first tasting at Claridge’s when baker Richard Hart introduced the hotel’s discerning French head baker Frederic Doncel to the delights of Mr Kipling’s French Fancies. Quelle horreur, one can only imagine! Much R&D later, however, Claridge’s Bakery has opened its doors and Hart’s take on the dainty teatime treat is selling like, er, hot cakes.

French baking traditions were front and centre at The Connaught last week, however, when three Michelin star chef Hélène Darroze threw her annual galette des rois party. Santiago Lastra, Henry Harris, Angela Hartnett and Nieves Barragán Mohacho were among the chefs in attendance.

Meanwhile, fair play to Piers Morgan who is currently recuperating in the Cromwell after falling in a restaurant and breaking his hip. Clearly not content with the hospital’s food he put in an order for lamb chops from the Devonshire which publican Osh Rogers Lime-biked over personally.