Lockwood’s restaurant of Ripon has appointed Richard Sharp as head chef.
Harrogate-born Richard joins from Six Poor Folk in Knaresborough, where he helped to set up the restaurant and was head chef. Prior to that Richard worked at, the now closed Harrogate restaurant, Van Zellar, and Hotel du Vin as a junior sous chef.
As part of his remit at Lockwoods, Richard will oversee the restaurant’s seasonal menu, keeping it local and relevant to the establishment’s customer, while maintaining the high standards that guests have come to expect from this award-winning North Yorkshire restaurant, including winner of North East Restaurant of the Year in 2016.
Richard said:I’m thrilled and excited to be given this opportunity. Lockwoods welcomes a discerning diner through its doors and therefore the catering offering needs to be up there with guests’ expectations. Currently it’s good. We intend to make it exceptional.
Owner, Matthew Lockwood said: We’ve been looking for a strong head chef who can bring an unrivalled focus on quality with the ability to deliver an exceptional dining experience every time. We want to make the restaurant consistently excellent; to do this we need a first-class head chef.
The appointment is the last step in Lockwood’s plans to further enhance their food and beverage offering with its £60,000 investment in the refurbishment of the kitchen.
Richard continued: I am so excited to join the Lockwood’s team and make my influence on the place. I have a great deal of new equipment that I can play with, like water baths and slow cookers, to get really flavoursome and succulent dishes.
Matthew said: We will keep our classic, local and seasonal dishes which celebrate the enormous riches available on our doorstep, while continuing to place importance on the personal touch in a relaxed and caring atmosphere. That’s what Lockwoods is all about.
Richard recently got engaged to his long-term partner and mother of his three children, one of which is due very soon.
