Chris Emery has been appointed executive chef at Oxford's Randolph Hotel, due to reopen next month following a major revamp.
The five-star hotel in Beaumont Street, now owned by American chain Graduate Hotels, closed for refurbishment in the autumn and is due to reopen in August.
For months, builders inside have been working on the chain’s new designs, and a complete revamp of the bedrooms, the ballroom, the bars and dining areas is well under way.
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General manager Philip Lewis said last month he was looking forward to welcoming guests at the 151-bedroom hotel owned by the Nashville-based chain.
Now Mr Emery has been hired to run The Alice, a new restaurant.
He joins the hotel with extensive experience in some of the world's most renowned hospitality venues, having worked as Executive Sous Chef at Jason Atherton’s Pollen Street Social, and as Head Chef in Atherton’s The Clocktower in New York.
Mr Emery said: "This is a big project and a very exciting one.
"We have an opportunity to build a (kitchen) team from scratch and perhaps there will be some candidates from the old Randolph joining us.
"I wouldn't say I have particular signature dishes - my menu ethos is a love of local suppliers and following the seasons.
"The menu will build up around what Great Britain has to offer in terms of suppliers.
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"We want the hotel and the restaurant to be accessible to everybody so that they can come in and have a bite to eat for lunch, or afternoon tea, or a cocktail before going to the theatre - I want people to walk through the door and feel relaxed."
Graduate Hotels said The Alice will be an all-day dining restaurant, seasonally driven, and largely supported by local farmers and suppliers from Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire.
The opening menu will include, to start, chalk stream trout, Porthilly oyster and charcoal mayonnaise, or chicken and duck liver terrine, cherry, brioche and summer salad.
Main courses will feature roasted Lake District lamb, asparagus, black garlic and morels or pan seared brill, datterini tomatoes and butter sauce.
Puddings include farm strawberries and tarte tatin with banana, vanilla and caramel.
The Alice, a nod to Alice in Wonderland author Lewis Carroll, will serve breakfast, lunch, dinner, pre-theatre dining and afternoon tea.
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The restaurant will also provide the menu inspiration for the other hotel hospitality spaces - The Snug, The Morse Bar and the informal lounge and dining spaces The Drawing Room and The Lancaster Room.
The illustrator John Broadley has been commissioned to create all of the menu artwork throughout the hotel.
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