One of the Isle of Wight’s best-established destinations for food lovers across the Island is beginning a fresh culinary chapter. The Royal Hotel in Ventnor welcomes new Head Chef Tom Axford to lead its restaurant and wider dining experience.
Tom is already a familiar name to many Island diners, with a career spanning some of the Isle of Wight’s best-known kitchens. He was Head Chef and co-owner of Kynge’s Well in Brading, before becoming Head Chef at The George Hotel in Yarmouth, where he worked closely with Michelin-starred chef Robert Thompson and later Michelin-starred chef Claude Bosi. He went on to lead the kitchen at Salty’s Bar and Restaurant in Yarmouth, where he gained 2 AA Rosettes for the restaurant.
Most recently, Tom was at Robert Thompson’s RT Cafe and Grill in Ryde, and Thompson’s Restaurant, helping deliver its eight-course tasting menu.
At The Royal, Tom leads a combination of new talent as well as the familiar kitchen team you will know and love, bringing fresh energy to the Geranium Restaurant whilst building on the creativity, precision and beautifully presented food for which the restaurant has long been known.
The Royal has held 2 AA Rosettes for 30 years, and the new menus retain that sense of occasion while opening up more ways to enjoy the hotel. Alongside dinner in the Geranium Restaurant, The Royal Hotel is welcoming residents and visitors for breakfast, relaxed lunches, Sunday Lunch, and its much-loved Afternoon Tea with Head Pastry Chef, Hubert Żuchkowski.
The current menus will evolve to give a taste of Tom’s creativity. The Royal’s signature Twice Baked Gallybagger Soufflé remains firmly in place, while dishes such as Isle of Wight Tomato Gazpacho, local fish and carefully considered meat and plant-based options put seasonality and Island ingredients at the centre of the experience. Desserts continue the sense of theatre, balancing comforting favourites with unique, contemporary creations.
Tom Axford, new Head Chef at The Royal Hotel, said: “The Royal has such a strong history and reputation on the Island, so it is exciting to have the opportunity to build on that and bring fresh ideas to our guests. I want The Royal to feel somewhere you can come for a relaxed lunch with family or friends one day and return to for a special dinner another evening, with both experiences receiving the same intimate care and attention. We have fantastic produce here on the Isle of Wight and that will play a big part in what we do”.
Antony Baxter, Senior Operations Manager at The Royal Hotel, said: “We are delighted to welcome Tom to The Royal and to begin this next chapter for our restaurant. Tom is a chef many people across the Island will already know through his work in some of its best-known kitchens, and he brings a great deal of experience, creativity and a genuine understanding of the Isle of Wight and its food scene”.
He continued: “The Royal has an extraordinary culinary heritage, and we are immensely proud of what has been achieved here over many years. This is about building on those foundations, bringing fresh energy into the kitchen and giving both Island residents and visitors new reasons to dine with us. Whether that is lunch with friends, Sunday Lunch, Afternoon Tea or an evening in the Geranium Restaurant, we want people to rediscover The Royal and enjoy this new chapter with us”.
The restaurant forms part of a wider evolution of The Royal’s food and beverage offering, combining the standards expected of one of the Island’s landmark hotels with a more relaxed and flexible approach to dining throughout the day.
The Royal’s Geranium Restaurant is open to hotel residents and non-residents. For reservations and further information, visit royalhoteliow.co.uk or call 01983 852186.
