Kevin Bonello on Monday shared that he has joined UK hotel The Grand, York as Executive Head Chef.
The move comes after his experience at Xara Collection came to an end after 21 years, where he most recently served as Culinary Director.
His culinary journey started off when he was still 10 years old, when he used to watch and help his mother in the kitchen. Following that, he worked as an Apprentice Chef at Ristorante Cosmana Navarra in Rabat, Malta, before he then commenced his studies in Food Preparation and Production at the Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS). Afterwards, Mr Bonello had 18 months of training in London at the Berkeley Hotel and various Michelin-starred restaurants, which then prompted him to have other experiences at a number of other prestigious restaurants across Europe.
He was then offered the opportunity to become Chef de Cuisine at The Xara Palace Relais & Chateaux at just 23 and served as the “main engine” of Xara Collection’s kitchen brigade up until his departure.
Some of his notable achievements include being elected on the Relais & Chateaux World Culinary Council representing the Mediterranean, Middle East, and Morocco in 2022 and being voted Best Chef of the Year by the public in the annual Definitive(ly) Good Food Restaurants Guide in 2016. In 2015, he also had the opportunity to cook for the UK’s then Prince Charles of Edinburgh (now King Charles III) and the Duchess of Cornwall during their stay at The Xara Palace Hotel Relais & Chateaux while the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) took place in Malta in 2015.
Located just inside York’s walls, The Grand, York was built in 1906 initially as the headquarters of the North Eastern Railway, and ever since it opened as a hotel in 2010, it has retained its original stonework, marble detailing, and stone staircases. The five-star hotel doubled in size in 2018 following a £15 million (€17.1 million) redevelopment, and now boasts 207 bedrooms, two restaurants, an outdoor courtyard, and a bar, among other amenities.
Social image: The Grand, York
