Fabio Talavera

Accomplished and results driven Executive Chef with more than 15 years of experience in the hospitality industry, including a decade of senior leadership in London's esteemed and distinctive culinary landscapes. Demonstrated success in leading multi-venue concept operations, generating weekly revenues exceeding £120k and cultivating high performing kitchen teams. Proficient in aligning culinary innovation with commercial acumen to provide outstanding guest experiences and maintain healthy departmental profit margins.

Regional Executive Chef at Lore Group (2024-03 – 2026-06)

Directed comprehensive culinary operations across two flagship London hotel properties, Sea Containers London and One Hundred Shoreditch. Oversaw a diverse portfolio including all-day dining restaurant, in room dining, high volume events, and premium cocktail bars while driving cross-functional collaboration to align operational strategies with the company's broader commercial objectives.

• Multi-Site Operation: Commanded seasonal culinary execution and brand standards across hotel venues, successfully managing a combined annual food revenue exceeding £5.2m whilst securing a perfect 5 Star EHO rating for both properties.
• Fiscal Optimisation: Successfully engineered a 6% reduction in cost of sales through rigorous supply chain management and strict waste reduction production protocols.
• Workforce Efficiency: Orchestrated a strategic restructuring of a 42-person team, trimming headcount to maximise operational efficiency while maintaining premium service standards across the region.
• Culture & Leadership: Unify disparate kitchen brigades under a cohesive vision of excellence, establishing strong accountability, and structured internal pathways for professional growth.

Executive Head Chef at Soho House & Co (2022-03 – 2024-01)

Led extensive kitchen operations for private members' club, overseeing weekly food revenues generating more than £120k. Concentrated heavily on seasonal menu development, labour forecasting, ensuring strict health and safety adherence to maintain a perfect 5 Star EHO rating.

• Operational Excellence: Directed high velocity culinary operations across a multi floor venue, maintaining exceptional quality and consistency during peak volume periods.
• Menu Engineering: Designed strategic seasonal menus and engineered recipes to optimise member relevance, speed of service, and minimise waste.
• Fiscal Oversight: Managed daily stock control and purchases, payroll records, weekly labour forecast and rotas to safeguard bottom line profitability and budget.
• People & Culture: Orchestrated hands-on leadership and structured internal training programs to further drive team development for brigade, fostering career advancement and securing long term talent retention.

Head Chef at Soho House & Co (2020-03 – 2022-03)

Led kitchen operations for two unique restaurant concepts within the flagship Hoxton Group, encompassing event spaces, in room dining, an all-day restaurant, rooftop venue, and a coffee bar, generating over £95k in weekly turnover.

• Multi Concept Venue: Executed diverse culinary briefs across the Hoxton Grill and the opening of Maya Rooftop Restaurant.
• System Integration & Inventory: Implemented seasonal menu engineering and streamlined purchasing protocols via ADACO system to enhance inventory accuracy.
• Health & Safety: Implemented rigorous compliance standards and retained a 5 Star EHO rating for the entire multi outlet operation.

Head Chef at Soho House & Co (2018-08 – 2020-03)

Oversaw a high velocity kitchen, resembling near a 24-hour kitchen operation generating a weekly turnover exceeding £42k. Managed a streamlined team of 11 chefs to deliver flawless execution across demanding breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late-night dining services.

• Performance Benchmarking: Recognized as the top performing site for COS through disciplined stock management and intentional menu engineering without compromising food quality, culinary brief, or the guest experience.
• Operational Leadership: Administered hands on execution with daily operations to navigate intense service volumes daily, driving operational consistency while successfully delivering healthy departmental profit margins.
• Resource Allocation: Optimised internal team retention and strategically cross allocated culinary talent to support neighbouring Central London locations during peak business windows.

Senior Sous Chef at Soho House & Co (2017-11 – 2018-08)

Oversight of day-to-day kitchen operations for a high-volume private members' club featuring breakfast, lunch, dinner, late night dining, brunch, and Sunday roast services with weekly revenues exceeding £78k. Recognized across the wider group for driving innovative menu development, maintained a strict health and safety compliance, and fostered a supportive kitchen culture that secured strong talent retention.

Senior Sous Chef at The Lighterman (2016-03 – 2017-11)

Spearhead the successful grand opening of The Lighterman in King's Cross, leading a culinary brigade of 32+ chefs for an intense multi floor, all day operation servicing 600-1100 covers daily operating with weekly revenues consistently topping £115k. Balanced high-volume service execution with strict budgetary control, daily labour forecasting, and thoughtful seasonal menu engineering to maximize kitchen efficiency and maintain robust profit margins.

Sous Chef at Maze Restaurant, Gordon Ramsay (2015-06 – 2016-03)

Supported the daily management of a high performing brigade consisting of 20+ chefs servicing lunch, dinner, and private dining events. Maintained absolute quality control, precision, and consistency across all stations while leading the comprehensive training and development of junior culinary team members to uphold exacting brand standards.

Head Chef at Caldo Bar & Kitchen (2013-06 – 2015-05)

Led the day-to-day kitchen operation of a busy Spanish restaurant and bar, delivering tapas and Spanish-inspired small plates while managing menu development, purchasing, stock control, food costs, rotas, recruitment, training, and kitchen standards.

Culinary Arts – CEUNSP Culinary School