Andrew D’Ambrosi · Chef & Culinary Consultant
I’m Andrew D’Ambrosi. I create menus, develop food concepts and help owners turn good ideas into food their teams can deliver, every service.
London-based · UK & international projects
Featured in
Concepts created.
Kitchens led.
My approach
I’m a chef, restaurateur and culinary consultant based in London. My career has taken me from New York restaurant kitchens to building D’Ambrosi Fine Foods in the Cotswolds and leading the opening kitchen at Buvette London. Along the way: group executive chef roles, hotels, private members’ clubs and Bravo’s Top Chef.
I want food to have a clear point of view. A dish needs a reason to be on the menu: flavour, character and a place in the wider meal. It also needs to earn its place in the kitchen, with sensible costs, workable prep and a team that can deliver it consistently. That’s where I bring cooking and operations together.
Good food is the starting point. Making it work as a business is part of the job.
Consulting services
Focused assignments and ongoing culinary direction for restaurants, hotels, delis, fast casual concepts and hospitality groups.
Develop or reposition a food offer around your target customer, selling price and service model. Translate the concept into recipes the kitchen can deliver.
Prepare the kitchen team, production routines and culinary standards for launch. Support the implementation of an established brand in a new location.
Review recipe costs, portion control, purchasing and kitchen workflow. Establish priorities for improving consistency, cost visibility and service delivery.
Develop retail and catering ranges for batch production, takeaway and home finishing. Align the food offer with the format, customer and production requirements.
Selected projects
From building my own food business to opening an international restaurant brand in London: the brief, my contribution and the work that followed.
Neal’s Yard · 2026–present
Head Chef · International brand opening
What this demonstrates
Brand transfer · Team training · Opening kitchen leadership
Press & project evidence
London launch · June 2026.
The Cotswolds · 2019–2025
Co-founder & Executive Chef · Food retail
What this demonstrates
Concept creation · Prepared-food products · Retail & catering menus
Press & project evidence
New York · 2015
Executive Chef · Concept Creator & Culinary Innovator
What this demonstrates
Culinary innovation · Original concept creation · Lasting food identity
Created the culinary concept and food identity of Avant Garden for Overthrow Hospitality, pioneering an approach that put vegetables at the centre of fine dining. Built dishes around the character of each ingredient, using layered preparations, contrasting textures and precise presentation. This approach helped shape New York’s emerging plant-based fine-dining scene, earning acclaim from Eater and The New Yorker. The success of the concept became a catalyst for Overthrow Hospitality’s move towards vegetarian dining across its venues. My dishes continued to be served after I left, carrying forward the culinary identity I created. The restaurant went on to receive Michelin Guide recognition.
Press & project evidence
Brooklyn · 2013–2015
Executive Chef · Seafood concept
What this demonstrates
Seafood menus · Dish development · Kitchen leadership
Led the food at this Brooklyn seafood restaurant, from crudo to squid cut into tagliatelle. The menu brought precise preparation and an inventive approach to a compact neighbourhood restaurant.
Press & project evidence
Culinary direction across a group
As Group Executive Chef at Overthrow Hospitality and Bamboo Group, I worked across distinct food identities: plant-based dining, seafood, Latin American cooking, Asian fusion, sushi, American barbecue and Nikkei.
For owners and groups operating multiple outlets, I provide direction on menu development, recipe specifications, purchasing and production standards. The aim is consistent delivery across the business, with a distinct food identity for each concept.
Discuss culinary direction ↗Working together
A kitchen or menu assessment with a written review, priorities and practical recommendations.
A new concept, menu, product range or opening brief, with agreed deliverables and milestones.
Regular support for menu development, recipe costs, team standards and delivery across your outlets.
Start with a conversation about your business and what needs to change. From there, we agree the scope, timetable and fee before work begins.
Tell me what you’re working on ↗Chef · Executive Chef · Group Executive Chef
Selected independent coverage
Robert Sietsema’s assessment of the opening menu.
Read the reviewGrace Dent reviews Buvette’s London restaurant, where I lead the kitchen as opening Head Chef.
Read the review
