Swinton Estate brings in St. John's head chef

Swinton Estate, the country estate, hotel and spa in the Yorkshire Dales, has appointed Steve Darou as its new executive head chef.

Darou joins from St. John restaurants, where he served as group head chef. He leaves the London group after more than 10 years in its kitchens. 

At Swinton Estate, which is set in 20,000 acres of Yorkshire countryside, a key part of Darou's role will be to develop the wider team of chefs across offers such as Samuel’s Restaurant, the Terrace Restaurant and Bar, a Chef’s Table in the Cookery School and the Swinton Bivouac Café.

His hiring aims to strengthen Swinton’s estate-to-plate ethos, focusing on the connection between land and kitchen, championing whole-animal butchery and ensuring the estate’s produce is used with imagination, integrity and minimal waste. 

Alongside Darou's arrival, Josh Barnes will conclude his time at the Chef’s Table at Swinton on 5 July. During his tenure, the Chef’s Table was awarded three AA Rosettes and received Michelin recognition. 

"This is an exciting moment for Swinton, and we are delighted to welcome Steve to the estate," says general manager Ramune Aleks. "His appointment reflects our ambition to build a kitchen culture that combines exceptional cooking with a deeper understanding of provenance, seasonality and regenerative hospitality, while making the very most of the extraordinary produce and farming heritage around us."

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