Simon Radley
Simon Radley is a British chef. He is a former executive chef of the restaurant Simon Radley at the Chester Grosvenor, known as Arkle. Part of the Chester Grosvenor and Spa hotel in the United Kingdom. Following Radley’s departure, the restaurant failed to retain its Michelin star in the 2022 guide after holding it for 30 consecutive years.
Early life and career
Radley was born in 1965 in the English city of Manchester. While still a child, his family moved to Tring, Hertfordshire, where he lived until he was 16. He then completed a catering course at Crewe College and went to Mâcon, where he worked as a waiter for three weeks. Upon returning to England, he held a job in Wilmslow as a chef, before joining the Chester Grosvenor and Spa as chef de partie, in 1986.Noted for having potential as a chef, Radley was encouraged to expand his experience and skills, and he therefore moved to London to work for a year at Inigo Jones, a restaurant in Covent Garden now known as The Forge, and run at the time by celebrity chef Paul Gayler.
In 1988, he returned to the Chester Grosvenor and, two years later, the restaurant was awarded its first Michelin star. Radley had further opportunities to expand his skills, spending time abroad in 1991 at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong and the Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok. Closer to home, in 1994, Radley worked as executive chef at New Hall Manor in the West Midlands and later at the Nunsmere Hall Hotel in Cheshire.