1 Michelin star chefs: Gary Mundi, Corenucopia
Gary Mundi is the head chef at Corenucopia, the Chelsea restaurant awarded one Michelin star in the Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland 2026.
Opened in late 2025, Corenucopia is Clare Smyth’s luxury bistro and quickly earned Michelin recognition, with the Guide describing Gary as the chef in the kitchen executing top-drawer versions of British classics.
Originally from Canada, Gary joined Core by Clare Smyth in 2019 and has been part of the group ever since.
Corenucopia says he is known for his calm leadership, deep respect for ingredients and close work with suppliers, qualities that now shape the kitchen at Clare’s newer restaurant.
Previous work with Clare
Gary worked at Core from 2019 before stepping up to lead Corenucopia.
That move placed him at the centre of Clare Smyth’s next London project, with his promotion marking a clear progression from the three-Michelin-starred Core team into a head chef role of his own.
His rise also fits with the wider purpose of Corenucopia. Clare has described the restaurant as part of the next chapter in her journey and an opportunity to support and guide the next generation of hospitality.
Gary’s appointment, alongside restaurant manager Lynn van Logtestijn’s move from Core, reflects that passing on of responsibility into a new leadership team.
Corenucopia and Clare Smyth
Corenucopia is the more relaxed sister restaurant to three-Michelin-starred Core by Clare Smyth.
Michelin describes it as an elegant restaurant with thick carpets, neo-classical mouldings, mahogany tables and velvet upholstery, while Clare’s own team positions it as a luxury bistro serving elevated British classics.
Clare remains central to the identity of the restaurant. The first British female chef to be awarded three Michelin stars, she built her reputation at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay before opening Core, and Corenucopia represents a different expression of the same standards: a richer, more nostalgic, more bistro-led format, but still grounded in precision and respect for ingredients.
Gary Mundi’s cooking style
At Corenucopia, Gary leads a kitchen focused on refined British and French classics. Michelin says Clare’s signature purity and precision are on display across the menu, while other coverage describes Gary as the chef executing top-drawer versions of those dishes in a format that feels more relaxed than Core, but still highly polished.
That style is visible in the restaurant’s better-known dishes.
Coverage has highlighted smoked salmon pâté, chicken Kyiv, Dover sole filled with lobster mousse and served as “fish and chips”, sherry trifle and a dedicated potato menu offering a wide range of classic preparations.
Michelin star at Corenucopia
In February 2026, Corenucopia was awarded its first Michelin star, at the awards ceremony in Dublin.
The Michelin Guide’s awards coverage singled out the restaurant as Clare Smyth’s take on the luxury bistro, with Gary Mundi in the kitchen delivering the food that earned the recognition.
For Gary, the award marked a major personal step: his first Michelin star as head chef. It also confirmed that Corenucopia was more than a secondary project or softer offshoot of Core.
Under Gary’s leadership, it quickly established its own identity and standard, while still carrying the discipline and ingredient focus associated with Clare Smyth’s restaurants.
Gary Mundi at Corenucopia
Today, Gary Mundi leads one of London’s newest Michelin-starred dining rooms. At Corenucopia, he has taken the standards developed at Core and applied them to a restaurant with a different tone: more bistro than tasting-menu destination, but still exacting in its cooking and confident in its point of view.
With one Michelin star now attached to Corenucopia, Gary’s profile has moved forward significantly.
Other Michelin Star Chefs
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