Stu Deeley to leave The Warwick at Mallory Court
Stu Deeley is to leave his role as executive chef of The Warwick at Mallory Court.
The announcement came today that the 2019 MasterChef: The Professionals champion will run his final service on Thursday, September 10, 2026, after a successful year in which he relaunched the Warwickshire restaurant as a standalone dining destination and led it into the Michelin Guide.
Mallory Court announced the news on Instagram, posting: “We wanted to take this chance to reflect on the restaurant’s growth during his time here.
“Stu has worked with the team to develop an award-winning seasonal dining experience that has firmly put The Warwick on the culinary map, which has also seen us listed in the Michelin Guide earlier this year.
“Using truly homegrown produce from our kitchen gardens across our menus, under the guidance of Stu, is also something we are especially proud of, and is one of the many legacies that we will continue to build on.”
‘A real career highlight’
In the same post, Stu reflected on his time at the hundred-year-old hotel.
He said: “I have loved every minute of my time at The Warwick.
“Being able to come in and start from scratch with an already talented team to help this beautiful restaurant reach its potential has been a real career highlight for me, but I feel that now is the right time for me to take a short break before pursuing my next culinary adventure.
“It’s been an unbelievable team effort, and the kitchen I am leaving behind has all of the key ingredients to continue delivering the incredible dining experience that diners have come to expect at The Warwick.
“This doesn’t feel like a goodbye to me, but more of a ‘see you later’, as I have always felt like a part of the Mallory Court family, and I will certainly be back to see how The Warwick develops from here.”
Ticking off the ambitions
Speaking to The Staff Canteen, Stu said the departure was entirely amicable, and reflected on what he and the team set out to achieve when he arrived.
He said: “We set out to achieve what we have. We wanted to relaunch The Warwick at Mallory as its own standalone restaurant. We wanted to retain the three AA Rosettes, which we did. We wanted to get into the Michelin Guide, which we did.
“We wanted to build a good team and create a restaurant that locally resonated with Mallory, but also got people interested in Mallory again. And that’s what we did.
“Obviously, in this industry, you give yourself a hard time about achieving absolutely everything you want to achieve.
“We’d love to have got a star. We’ve only had one Michelin Guide come out since I’ve been here, so it’s still early days.
“I think if I’d stuck it out another couple of years, potentially it could have happened. But equally, you have to take the opportunities when they arise, don’t you? And chasing a star isn’t necessarily the right business move.”
He added that a new opportunity, which he plans to announce in due course, had prompted the move.
“Personally, something else has come available, which will come out at a later date, that’s piqued my interest and is better suited to my own aspirations,” he explained.
An expanded role across the hotel
Stu opened The Warwick in June 2025, having previously run Smoke at Hampton Manor.
His role at Mallory Court saw him take on more roles than just leading one kitchen, a challenge he says he enjoyed.
“I think financially we’ve turned it around, so I can only see positives that have come out of it personally,” Stu said.
“The role has been overseeing two restaurants, the conferencing side, and also looking after the bar food and any bespoke menus, etcetera.
“We’ve had quite a few big events too. So we’ve really had a lot of success with what we’ve done, and it’s all been positive.”
He added: “I’ve loved it. Who knows what the future holds, but I would definitely go back into an exec role in the future.”
Stu also praised the wider team at Mallory Court.
“Every bit of respect for everyone who works within the company, everyone’s been great at getting it to where it needs to be,” he said.
“We’ve seen lots of return guests, year on year. We’ve seen lots of new faces, and lots of good press, influential journalists and guides.
“It’s been breathing a bit of life back into Mallory for the last 18 months, and I’m sure it will continue after I’m gone.”
A second stint at Mallory Court
For Stu, returning to Mallory Court last year marked something of a homecoming.
He had worked at Mallory Court as a junior sous chef a decade earlier, and returning as executive chef was his third stint with the Eden Hotel Collection group.
Before Mallory Court, Stu spent three years as chef director of Smoke at Hampton Manor in Solihull, departing at the end of 2024, and had worked earlier in his career under chefs including Steve Love, Luke Tipping, Alex Claridge and Adam Brown.
The Staff Canteen reported on his arrival at Mallory Court at the time, when he said he was “over the moon to be back in the Eden Hotel Collection” and aimed to restore it to its former glories.
‘The calibre of restaurant we’ve been able to create’
Mark Chambers, managing director of Eden Hotel Collection, paid tribute to Stu’s time at The Warwick.
He said: “Although we are sad to see Stu move on, we are really excited about the legacy he leaves behind and the calibre of restaurant we’ve been able to create.
“He, along with our kitchen and hotel teams, have helped to build a solid platform for The Warwick to continue growing from, with a restaurant that delivers top class execution of food that people want to eat.
“We’d like to thank Stu for his service with us, and look forward to welcoming him back as a guest soon.”
No details have yet been announced on who will take over the kitchen at The Warwick following Stu’s departure.
Read more:
For 18 years, The Staff Canteen has been the meeting place for chefs and hospitality professionals—your stories, your skills, your space.
Every recipe, every video, every news update exists because this community makes it possible.
We’ll never hide content behind a paywall, but we need your help to keep it free.
If The Staff Canteen has inspired you, informed you, or simply made you smile, chip in £3—less than a coffee—to keep this space thriving.
Together, we keep the industry connected. Together, we move forward.
Support Us
CONTRIBUTE
Stu Deeley to leave The Warwick at Mallory Court
