British Racing Club

One of Newcastle's best-known restaurant managers has taken up the mantle of managing food and beverage operations at Terry Laybourne's new venture at Jesmond Dene House. Nick Shottel, restaurant manager at Café 21 on the Quayside, has been with the 21 Restaurant Group for 17 years and has gained a wealth of experience at Laybourne's restaurants across the region. He is now looking forward to the challenge of launching Jesmond Dene House , a first-class, city boutique hotel and restaurant due to open on September 1. Nick said: "I am relishing the challenge of opening Jesmond Dene House. The new property will represent all the values of the 21 Restaurant Group; it will be a fun place to eat and drink, it will be run by passionate, knowledgeable people, and will offer the highest quality cooking in a relaxed environment. Jesmond Dene House will become a landmark for the city, something for the area to be proud of, and I am very excited about being involved in the project from the beginning." Jesmond Dene House will offer 40 en-suite bedrooms; a restaurant with capacity for 74 people, a private dining room for 18 and function/private dining facilities for up to 120, which will specialise in serving fresh, seasonal, regional produce. There will also be state of the art facilities for business meetings and seminars. Terry Laybourne commented on the news: "I'm absolutely delighted that Nick has accepted the challenge at Jesmond Dene. He has an outstanding track record at Café 21, and I'm sure he'll continue in a similar vein in this exciting new venture. We hope that, like the other restaurants in the group, Jesmond Dene House will be regarded as one of the finest in the region and that it will become a showcase for the best values of the people of the North East." Bastiaan Hogelucht, who has worked for the 21 Restaurant Group for the last five years, has taken up the position of restaurant manager at Café 21 following Nick's move to Jesmond Dene House.