'We've returned to the foundations of Bob Bob Ricard - and that's luxury comfort food'

Masterchef: The Professionals 2017 finalist and former senior sous at Roux at Parliament Square Tom Peters is the new head chef at Bob Bob Ricard, the iconic Russian-British restaurant in Soho.

In an interview with The Staff Canteen, the ex-Maeemo chef said:  "I'm really happy to be in this role, it's very exciting."

While the environment at Bob Bob Ricard - once led by Éric Chavot, who moved on to launch Bob Bob Cité but left the company earlier this year -  is undoubtedly different to his previous positions, Tom said he was looking forward to "applying the same foundations and standards that I've learnt over the years and put them into practice here." 

Even with reduced numbers to account for social distancing, the restaurant seats a maximum 200 people, and thankfully can work safely with a full brigade of 15 chefs in the kitchen.

Despite the many restaurants in central London suffering from a lack of commuters, he said: "We're very busy at the moment, which is fantastic." 

The chef said he was pleased to have had the time to push his dish development a bit further, returning to the foundations of Bob Bob Ricard, which he defines as "luxury comfort food." 

"A lot of the menu will appear the same as it was before, but each dish has been looked at, we have new recipes for everything and we've streamlined it all to make it delicious without any nonsense."

The chef is also pleased to add some new ones on the menu, namely the turbot wellington, featuring a layer of hand-dived scallop mousse and served with champagne beurre blanc. 

The chef explained: "The beef Wellington has always been the biggest seller here - by a long way - people already know what they want before they come through the door." 

"We wanted to create something just as luxurious and premium for people who may not necessarily want to eat meat."

The restaurant will also be hosting 'Waffle and Champagne' brunches Friday through Sunday at a date to be confirmed, using ingredients such as cloudberries, truffles and HG Walter bacon.