'Cultural shift': Michael Caines reflects on a history-making first year at The Stafford
Michael Caines feels the “big cultural shift” he has helped implement across The Stafford has played a key role in his history-making first year with the London hotel.
The chef, best known for his work in Devon at Lympstone Manor and Gidleigh Park, entered the London market in 2025, as culinary strategist at century-old The Stafford.
Situated in St James’s Place, Mayfair, the five-star hotel now also has a Michelin-starred restaurant for the first time in its history, with Michael Caines at The Stafford entering the guide in February 2026.
Its 2026 entry was all the more impressive given it has only this month celebrated its one-year anniversary of opening.
“It doesn't feel like a year, to be honest,” Michael told The Staff Canteen.
“We've got a really hard-working group of individuals, in the kitchen and front of house, all dedicated to progressing the journey forward.
“There's been a big cultural shift as well. A year on, things feel much more settled. The team have really embraced the awards and accolades, and it's given the whole hotel a boost, which is great."
What is Michael Caines’s role at The Stafford?
Michael’s involvement is wide-ranging across the hotel, not solely on the Michelin-starred restaurant. He curates menus for the private dining and also the American Bar, as well as working with executive head of culinary James Willis on Michael Caines at The Stafford’s main dining room.
The team also includes Bake Off: The Professionals 2026 finalist pastry chef Aubin Farges and new general manager Kremi McCabe, who has recently joined from Mandarin Oriental.
“The Michelin-starred restaurant, the American Bar and the private dining are all coming together to show, a year later, really good progress in the business, in terms of improvement year on year in revenue, but also customer satisfaction,” Michael explained.
"Even something as simple as breakfast, the offer was revitalised and relaunched at the beginning of the year, because now you're having breakfast in a Michelin-starred restaurant. We want the guest experience to be the same mindset throughout.
“What we're trying to do is bring a change of culture and mindset into the hotel based on cooking great food. And to cook great food, that means stocks, sauces, preparation, getting the right product, the right supply chain, and doing it as best we can in a more sustainable and responsible way.
“Everybody's producing food that looks good, but not many actually understand what makes food taste good.
"I think the focus is on technique, and the ability for the chef to train and nurture their talent with an understanding of what the outcome should be, rather than just Instagram and instantly good-looking food.
“It's about producing a restaurant that people will come back to. And incidentally, that takes a little bit more time. Success is not often overnight.”
Why Michael Caines waited so long to work in London
For Michael, now aged 57, the move into London was a long time coming, having previously achieved Michelin stars in his home county of Devon.
“It was now or never, probably,” he said.
“The reality is, I'm getting on a bit, to be fair. I should have done it earlier, and had the opportunity, but it didn't quite come off.
“You can’t underestimate the effort it takes to do something like Lympstone Manor, which celebrates ten years since opening next year, in April.
“Initially I was asked to look at a hotel in Knightsbridge, and I got quite close to doing something there. But it wasn't quite right, so I declined in the end. I asked my PR company, who look after me at Lympstone, if they could find me a hotel. They suggested The Stafford, because Lisa (Goodwin-Allen) was leaving her role here.
“Very quickly we were able to put together an agreement. I felt The Stafford was a good fit with what we're doing in Devon. Also, it's Mayfair, it's St James's, it's a wonderful address.
“I could see The Stafford would offer me that opportunity of progression in a market that's very competitive. So far, it's been a really good partnership.
“London is one of the best cities in the world, and to have a footprint in London can also be good for me, and obviously for what I'm doing at Lympstone Manor.
“Coming to London later on in my career, I think it was a good adventure to undertake. Sometimes you think, well, maybe if I'd started my career here, I might have achieved a bit more.
“But at the same time, the world of food is not London-centric anymore.”
Take a look at one of our archive videos with Michael
The food on offer at The Stafford
The food offering itself has instantly resonated with diners. When opening, Michael initially had chef Simon Ulph in the kitchen, but he moved on to Rothay Manor in the Lake District and was replaced by James Willis, formerly of Brown’s Hotel and three-Michelin-starred Belgian restaurant Hertog Jan, under Gert De Mangeleer.
“He's an outstanding quality chef who's worked at three-star and two-star,” Michael said of James.
“He took on the role officially at the beginning of the year.
“James came through our former general manager, John McLean. John used to work at Brown's, and James worked with him there, went off and travelled, did some incredible work in Asia, and was available to help us out to get through Christmas.
“I managed to convince him to stick around, which is just as well.
“We're very lucky to have somebody like James with good leadership skills and management skills, as well as being a passionate chef. You need all of those things in a hotel.
“James is excellent. We have a creative, collaborative approach here, and I think that's important.
“Some of the junior members of staff can put through ideas on canapés and appetisers as we move forward.
“Regardless of whether I'm here or not, the quality and the consistency of delivery is about the team. That's led by James, and the senior team here have been brilliant. James Willis, we've got to give him credit, he's done a great job.
"And Aubin in pastry was on Bake Off: The Professionals, runner-up. He's a great talent. We recognised that from the off.
"We're nurturing the next generation as well. We've recently had a great meeting with Westminster College about apprenticeships and bringing in young people.
“My role is really instrumental, not just in what goes on the menu, but in marketing, the business approach – assisting the general manager, the F&B team and commercially. My role extends into all of that, which is really exciting.”
Discussing the food offering itself, Michael said: “All of the dishes on the menu at Michael Caines are Michael Caines dishes, my signature dishes, and unashamedly so. But we've also got the classics, which we call The Stafford classics: smoked salmon, beef Wellington and Dover sole.
“What we're trying to do is establish the destination restaurant through my reputation, and grow that. The best and easiest way to do that is to use the repertoire I've developed over the many, many years I've been cooking.”
How Michael Caines at The Stafford won a Michelin star so quickly
Within months of opening, Michael Caines at The Stafford held a Michelin star.
Asked if that had been the goal, he said: “Everybody saw from the beginning that the quality of food we were trying to cook from day one was obviously worthy of a contender.
“Everyone in London was talking about everybody else getting a star. The one name that wasn't often mentioned was Michael Caines at The Stafford. Yet quietly, and with a lot of hard work, and sometimes it was pretty challenging, we were able to focus our minds on achieving a standard which was worthy of the award.
“It was always a goal in the back of our minds, but we didn't advertise that.
“We're really pleased. In the 103-year history of the hotel, it's the first time it's ever achieved a Michelin star at this address, so that in itself is an achievement.
“It immediately puts The Stafford as an address on the fine dining restaurant scene as a serious establishment.
“For myself, it's nice to achieve that, to know that you've still got it, so to speak, not that I ever doubted it. But to know that you can make an impact in a market like London, which is great.
“I think good food works anywhere.”
Asked where he hopes to have taken The Stafford in another 12 months, Michael said: "Well, if you ask James, James would say he wants two stars. But that's the beauty of the ambition that we've created, and I don't disagree with that.
“I'm not going to say in a year's time we're going to have two stars, but I don't dismiss that, and I admire that, because the team and all of us want to improve.
“For me, I want to continue to see us develop through all of the offer, and maximise what we can do.
“I'd like to see it really establish itself as one of the go-to places to dine in London.”
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'Cultural shift': Michael Caines reflects on a history-making first year at The Stafford
