Not heading for the heliport
After persistent rumours last week that Gordon Ramsay is to head up a restaurant at the redeveloped Battersea Heliport-cum-riverside hotel, it seems that they are “completely unfounded” according to the chef’s spokeswoman.
And a similar denial was issued by Marco Pierre White, who told Caterer: “I don’t know anything about it, so I can’t possibly pass any comment.”
Like a newly-single celebrity, the redevelopment has been linked to any number of high-profilers, but a spokesman for Von Essen, the luxury hotel group, would confirm only that the company was in talks with “several big-name restaurateurs” and would look to make an announcement later in the year.
The Reach restaurant will form part of a new riverside hotel on the site of Battersea Heliport, which the company has bought for £50m. The 200-seat rooftop eatery will enjoy 360° views over London and Battersea – though a name somewhat lacking in imagination – and an executive business suite.
Andrew Davis, chairman of Von Essen, would not comment on the restaurant, but said: “We will be creating world-class facilities that will provide high-end users with the luxury and levels of convenience which are lacking at the moment.”
Indeed, if you travel by helicopter you’ll be glad to hear of the development. The only heliport in London, the Battersea site has seen the likes of Tiger Woods and Jackie Onassis pass through.
But, in a completely predictable development, locals are suitably unimpressed with the project as complaints over noise levels grow more vocal. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem as though the Von Essen group is likely to change its mind – it’s also planning to build its own office headquarters next to the seven-storey boutique hotel.
