Waitrose appoints Executive Chef

Waitrose has announced the appointment of celebrated chef, Neil Nugent.

Neil, who has many years experience as a head chef in award-winning and Michelin-starred restaurants, as well as in the food retail industry, will take on a newly created high level role of Executive Chef.

Neil's culinary expertise and knowledge of the retail industry will help Waitrose achieve its ambitions of dominating the food retail sector in product quality and accelerating its programme of new product development.

Waitrose has a firmly-established reputation for the excellence of its food and drink. A total of 68 per cent of its products currently come first or second in independent taste tastes and the retailer aims to push the quality of its own label products even further ahead of competitors.

Amongst Neil's achievements is the acclaimed restaurant, J Bakers Bistro in York, which he co-owns. The restaurant holds a Bib Gourmand, a category created by Michelin for restaurants serving great food at reasonable prices. He also helped Leeds-based restaurant, Pool Court, win a Michelin star within nine months of opening.

Neil's appointment at Waitrose follows a successful 12 years at Asda where he was responsible for product innovation and quality. He has cooked in many of the world's top restaurants, both at home and abroad, and has a wealth of knowledge of global cuisine, markets and ingredients.

Richard Hodgson, Waitrose Commercial Director, said: "Neil has a formidable record as a chef and a depth of food knowledge that will be invaluable to our business. He will bring vital insight and skill in our drive to further raise the bar in product quality."