Café Royal Grill’s Kevin Gratton to helm one-night guest dinner with Stuart Gillies at Number Eight in Sevenoaks

Kevin Gratton, head chef of the Café Royal Grill at Hotel Café Royal on Regent Street, will take over the kitchen at Number Eight in Sevenoaks on Wednesday 23^rd September for a one-night-only dinner – the latest instalment of the restaurant’s guest chef series hosted by owner-chef Stuart Gillies. The programme brings culinary experts from across the hospitality industry to the neighbourhood restaurant for special dinners, several of which have previously sold out.

Beginning at 7pm, Gratton will present a menu built around classical technique, British seasonality and the style of London’s historic grill rooms. The four-course menu, which includes canapés and an aperitif, is priced at £85 per person, with an optional wine pairing at an additional £45 per person comprising three 125ml glasses and a 50ml dessert wine.

The meal opens with snacks of Smoked Salmon Café Royal with Horseradish, bowls of Jerusalem Artichoke Crisps and Cheese ‘n’ Onion Croquettes. A Café Royal Salad of pear, endive, Roquefort and toasted walnuts follows, then Red-legged Partridge on Yorkshire Toast with Elderberries. A fish course of Rye Bay Gurnard with Rich Bone Sauce and Coastal Greens, served with mousseline potatoes, precedes a dessert of Île Flottante with Blackberries.

Originally from Derbyshire, Gratton has worked in professional kitchens for more than 30 years. He began his career in Yorkshire before moving to London to work with Marco Pierre White at The Canteen in Chelsea Harbour and then The Oak Room. He then joined Le Caprice, where he met Gillies and subsequently became head chef. He opened Scott’s in Mayfair as executive chef, later oversaw Soho House’s UK kitchens and spent seven years as chef director and group executive chef at HIX Restaurants, working with Mark Hix. At the Café Royal Grill, his cooking takes its cues from Parisian brasseries and the grill rooms of London’s West End. He is also the founder of Samphire + Sage, a hospitality consultancy and events business.

Gillies, who will host the evening, has worked in kitchens for more than three decades, including in Italy, Sweden and New York, and at Le Caprice, The Connaught, Boxwood Café and Savoy Grill. He spent eight years as chief executive of the Gordon Ramsay Group before opening Number Eight with his wife, Cecilia. The two chefs have remained friends since working together at Le Caprice.

Coming up later in the series, Gillies will collaborate with the Michelin-starred chef Atul Kochhar on a two-part project, beginning at Kochhar’s Essence at The Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells on 21^st October and continuing with a dinner at Number Eight on 18^th November. Further dates will be announced in the coming months.

Food Desk

Kevin Gratton’s guest chef dinner takes place on 23^rd September 2026 at Number Eight Sevenoaks, 8 London Road, Sevenoaks TN13 1AJ. For further information or to book, visit here.