Florence Knight leaves Polpetto

One of London’s most promising female chefs, Florence Knight, has left Russell Norman’s Polpetto restaurant to pursue other ventures.

As reported by Hot Dinners, the restaurant on Berwick Street in Soho will be closed for a week following Knight’s departure.

“I’ve loved every moment spent in the Polpetto kitchen. It’s been my home for the past five years. While I’m sad to say goodbye, I look forward to beginning a new chapter in my career as a chef”, Knight told Hot Dinners.

Knight has been a key player in Polpetto from the beginning, when it started life on Dean Street, through to its much-hyped relaunch on Berwick Street last year.

In its new home the restaurant was lavished with praise, receiving a rare five-star rating from the Evening Standard’s critic Fay Maschler.

Polpetto will reopen next week in a guise similar to the original on Dean Street and will, like the other Polpos, focus on Venetian-inspired sharing plates such as spicy meatball pizzetta, rabbit pappardelle and zucchini fritti.