Two Top Chefs Join Team Sam's Riverside Ahead of Summer Launch
Rowley Leigh is Culinary Director and Harvey Trollope is Head Chef
Artist's impression of the bar at Sam's Riverside
Hammersmith's newest restaurant, Sam's Riverside has announced that two top chefs have joined its team ahead of its opening this summer.
Rowley Leigh has joined the team as Culinary Director, and is currently collaborating with restaurateur Sam Harrison on kitchen design, devising menus, food and drink sourcing, and recruiting a brigade of chefs.
Rowley, who lives in Shepherd's Bush, has worked with the Roux brothers at Le Gavroche and Le Poulbot before opening Kensington Place with Nick Smallwood and Simon Slater in 1987.
He then opened Le Café Anglais in 2007 while pursuing a career as a cookery writer, winning the Glenfiddich award three times. More recently, he worked as consultant chef for Odeon Cinemas flagship Lounge cinema in Whiteley's.
The restaurant's Head Chef will be Harvey Trollope, who has previously worked at The Ritz Restaurant with John Williams, and as a chef for both corporate and private clients in London and throughout Europe. Previously he was Head Chef at Wheelers of St James with Marco Pierre White, and has broad European experience, including both at Florence at Enoteca Rossini in Florence and Léon de Lyon in Lyon.
The 4,000 square foot brasserie, set within the redeveloped Riverside Studios, also due to open by summer, is close to Hammersmith Bridge with views of the Thames from every table as well as an outdoor terrace.
The menu style will be modern European, with a focus on Anglo-French dishes, many close to Rowley’s well-loved repertoire.
When plans for the restaurant were first announced last year, Sam Harrison said it would also feature a cocktail bar and a similar footprint to his former Chiswick restaurant, with space for around 90 s inside and up to 40 outside. He said the interior design would be "elegant", with a distinctive cocktail bar and open kitchen.
"It will be a place where you can come and have fish pie and a glass of wine for a £20 lunch but then come on another occasion and have cocktails and a fantastic meal with wine and spent £100," he added. "We want it to be the most glamorous restaurant in west London."
As it gears up for a summer launch, the restaurant is continuing to recruit staff.
On its website, Sam says: "We will be looking for exceptional Front of House and Chefs to join our team.
" For the Front of House team we are currently looking for Managers and Senior Staff that have experience of high volume brasserie style operations and ideally have experience of being involved with a high profile opening.
"We will also be looking for fabulous waiting and bar staff.
"In the kitchen, we will be recruiting from Senior Sous Chef down and again ideally you should have experience of high volume and 7 day a week operations.
"If you share our passion for always striving to be the best and delivering exceptional standards of hospitality and food, then we would love to meet with you.
"I also like working with people who aspire to have their own restaurant one day and want to come and learn from my business partner, Fanny Stocker and I.
"We intend to make Sam’s Riverside an exceptional place to work and want to work with exceptional Hospitality people.
"Please email me directly with your CV to sam@samsriverside.co.uk.
"I look forward to meeting you in person soon."
March 14, 2019