Young protégé succeeds Great British Menu star as Head Chef

Tuesday 28 May 2019

Great British Menu star Lee Smith's young protégé will succeed him as Head Chef when he leaves Samphire for the UK later this year, it has been announced.

Tommy Radiguet will take the place of his mentor of six years as Head Chef of the Don Street restaurant at the end of September when Lee leaves Jersey to be closer to his family.

The news comes after Lee made his way to the final round of BBC show ‘The Great British Menu’ where he competed alongside top chefs from across the UK to showcase his Michelin-standard skills during a music-themed feast at Abbey Road Studios. 

Lee wasn’t the only Jersey chef who got airtime on the show, with Number 10’s Joe Baker also representing cooks from the South-West region in one of the competition’s earlier rounds.

Pictured: Two chefs from Jersey took up slots in the BBC competition's South-West round.

After pairing beats and eats on national television, Lee has announced his departure.

Lee’s successor Tommy studied at Highlands College before starting his cooking career as an apprentice at Ormer under Shaun Rankin before training under Lee as the restaurant underwent its rebrand to become Samphire.

Pictured: The kitchen will soon be taken over by the restaurant's young protégé (Samphire).

Of the promotion, Samphire Chief Executive Chula Whelan said: “We are delighted to promote Tommy Radiguet to the position of Head Chef. One of our core values is to identify the best people for all areas of our business, from kitchen staff to front of house, to champion ambition and reward hard work and commitment to achieving the quality standards we set for ourselves.  

“Tom has shown not only that he is an excellent chef, but he has the right aptitude and character to lead a team in a pressured environment. Lee Smith leaves us with our very best wishes, and we must thank him for his contribution to our success.”