Rising Star Chef Wins Right to Stay in U.K. After Threat of Deportation

Star chef wins right to stay in U.K. after government threatened deportation

Ali Mustafaj, who built a career as a prodigious young chef after fleeing Albania aged 16, has won the right to stay in the U.K.; he has been appointed as head chef at an Italian restaurant in Bristol. [I News]

Vinegar Yard is London’s next street food-ish dining development

The team behind Flat Iron Square will open Vinegar Yard on St. Thomas Street in London Bridge, with Million Pound Menu’s Baba G’s and Borough Market’s Turnips signed to the project. Expect “art installations, container pop-up shops, bars, street food traders and a huge open air garden area.” It opens tonight. More here.

Three corporate pubs embrace co-working culture

Reliable wind-up merchants and bro-brewery Brewdog will introduce ‘Deskdog’ spaces at its Paddington, Shoreditch, and Brixton pubs, offering WiFi, unlimited coffee, and a single pint of Punk IPA for £7 a day. It is described as a “bar experience.” [Propel Hospitality]

Liquidation plan unlikely to pay off staff at grand cafe-style restaurant

Villandry, which went into administration in August 2018, is unlikely to be able pay off employees when its assets are sold. Company Voluntary Arrangements — CVAs — are frequently employed by stricken restaurants when liquidating; they do not always leave suppliers or employees compensated. [Big Hospitality]