Jason Wass appointed as head of food at Rick Stein Restaurants

Cornish seafood specialist Rick Stein Restaurants, which has sites in Cornwall, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset and London, has appointed Jason Wass as its new head of food. 

Wass will oversee all aspects of menu development across the 10 venues, working alongside chef-director Jack Stein to align with Stein's ethos of 'simple food, cooked well'. He will be responsible for sourcing the finest ingredients, integrating innovative culinary techniques to enhance the existing offering, as well as developing new ranges for Rick Stein's nationwide online fishmongers. 

Wass joins with a wealth of experience from the hospitality industry, having previously worked at Gordon Ramsay Group as senior sous chef, Russell Norman's Polpo as group executive chef and most recently, operations director at Upmarket Leisure (Gino D'Acampo Restaurants, Radio Rooftop London). He has also worked stages at the likes of Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles; Tom Kitchen at Kitchen Leith (working alongside Pierre Koffman), Restaurant Gordon Ramsay and Claridges, experiencing different cooking styles and environments. 

"It's a pleasure to be joining the Rick Stein team – I'm looking forward to working closely with Jack and Rick on developing menus across the strong portfolio of restaurants, with exciting plans in the works for the 50th anniversary," says Wass. "I've always admired the Steins' passion for seafood with a simple but flavourful approach to cooking, and I'm eager to continue to create fantastic dishes for our customers."

Rick Stein Restaurants began with The Seafood Restaurant in Padstow in 1975. Fast-forward almost 50 years, and the business now includes 10 restaurants, a cookery school, 40 guest rooms, selt-catering properties and four shops. 

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