Matt Edmonds leaves Searcys, The Gherkin, to open solo venture

The Staff Canteen
Matt Edmonds, who is currently head chef at Searcys, The Gherkin, has announced he will be leaving to pursue his first solo venture. SearcysHaving been in London for nine years he felt it was time to head back to the countryside and with backers he will be taking over Grade II listed building, The Grantley Arms in Wonersh, Surrey. Matt boasts an impressive CV, working for numerous Michelin starred chefs and restaurants including Michael Wignall at the Latymer restaurant at Penny Hill Park hotel, Une Table Au Sud in Marseille France with chef Lionel Levy and Artelier Amora in Poland. He said: “It’s an exciting opportunity to control all of the dining concepts in the pub and run it for me as I will be a patron.” The 32-year-old took over the flag ship site for Searcys fine dining Private Members restaurant, and events, in 2013. He brought with him modern British dishes with French influences. His new venture will be very different to his current role but he’s looking forward to the challenge. He said: “We’ll be serving good British food, with great ingredients, in the bar and restaurant. But there is also a private dining area which will do about 20 covers – so our first project is that. “There is an outside area where we want to grow our own ingredients for the restaurant and micro herbs.”

>>> Find out more about Matt in our feature with him

Matt has a lot of plans for the new site including a kitchen refurb, the creation of a deli in one of the outhouses and eventually they hope to have rooms upstairs in the pub. “It’s very much a progressive role,” said Matt. “We’d love to one day reach the heights of Top 50 Gastro Pubs in Britain and the Top Pub Guide.”C0028.MP4.Still001 He added: “I’ve got a great team behind me and I’m looking forward to being back in the kitchen more. The executive role I have now I’m constantly looking at what we are doing, the paperwork and figures. In my new role I can push forward with the cuisine and make sure the food is at a really good standard.”

Find out more about Matt's new venture here: www.thegrantleyarms.co.uk

In these challenging times…

The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall  – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.

Over the last 16 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 560,000 followers across Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.

A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.

Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.

The Staff Canteen

The Staff Canteen

Editor 9th October 2015

Matt Edmonds leaves Searcys, The Gherkin, to open solo venture