GRAFENE, the restaurant named after the revolutionary material, has made key staff appointments head of its scheduled opening on the former Le Petit Blan site on Friday, July 22.
Head chef will be Damien Cunliffe, previously sous chef at Volta in West Didsbury and his sous chefs are Phil Smith and Sean Forshaw. Cristina Molinari (ex-Ritz paris and Buddha Bar London) is pastry chef.
The team will be overseen by exec chef Darren Goodwin, head chef at The Orangery at Losehill House, the Peak District hotel and spa where Grafene owners Paul and Kathryn Roden (below) have made their reputation.
The front of house line-up is restaurant manager Amir Manouchehri (ex-Alchemist) and bar manager Chris Jew, once head bartender at Manchester House.
It looks a top team for an ambitious project a190-seat ‘informal’ cocktail and champagne bar and restaurant, in which £1 million has been invested, reviving the King Street/Chapel Walks space that has stood empty for seven years. Full a story here.
We are promised an eclectic, contemporary menu. The image is of ‘crispy lamb breast, spinach, saffron yoghurt and pomegranate’ taken from their Twitter feed @grafeneMCR
Grafene, 55 King Street, Manchester, M2 4LQ. @grafeneMCR