Roux Scholar Martin Carabott is the new head chef of Above at Hide

Roux Scholar Martin Carabott is the new head chef of Above at Hide, as the restaurant is set to reopen for dinner later today, on Tuesday 18th May.

Martin told The Staff Canteen that he has been in the position for a month, and that, on the day of reopening, his team's new tasting menu is ready to be served to customers for the first dinner service of the year this evening.

Originally from Malta, Martin was a  a finalist in the 2016 Craft Guild of Chefs National Chef of the Year competition and he winner of the 2016 British Culinary Federation Chef of the Year award.

In May 2014, he was awarded the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts Annual Award of Excellence, and in May 2013 he was named winner of the Club Secretaries and Managers Association Award for Culinary Excellence.

Martin Carabott won the Roux Scholarship in March 2018, at the age of 29. At the time, he was the senior sous-chef of Ollie Dabbous' London restaurant Hide, whilst chef and fellow Roux Scholar Luke Selby was the head chef at Above.

After winning the Roux Scholarship, Martin completed a stage at three Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park in New York before returning to Hide London. He had been poised to take on a role elsewhere when the pandemic struck, but the chef decided to seize on the opportunity to become head chef upon reopening instead.