Second Crown for award-winning chef

Mar 28 2008 by Sally Williams, Western Mail

THE opening of Wales’ latest plush restaurant tomorrow will see a Michelin-starred chef juggle the running of two of the nation’s swankiest eateries.

The Crown at White- brook restaurant near Monmouth and the internationally renowned Celtic Manor Resort, in Newport, are to launch a new five-star restaurant, called The Crown at Celtic Manor.

James Sommerin, who achieved the Michelin accolade in 2007 and retained it for 2008, will become executive chef for both restaurants, creating separate and distinctive menus for each venue.

In running more than one restaurant, Sommerin follows in such high-profile footsteps as Gordon Ramsay who famously juggles the running of venues in London, New York and Tokyo, among others.

Mr Sommerin said, “The menus at each establishment will be different in style but similar in context. The Crown at Celtic Manor will feature an a la carte menu for example.

“We will be trying to hit a broader aspect of diners at the Celtic Manor, perhaps focusing just a little more towards the business market and on picking up business from the M4 corridor, which is close by. But the Crown will still be my baby.”

The Celtic Manor Resort currently has four restaurants so The Crown at Celtic Manor will be its fifth.