Aaron Thomas named head chef at Rumours Mayfair

MasterChef: The Professionals semi-finalist Aaron Thomas (pictured left) has joined Rumours restaurant in London's Mayfair as head chef.

Thomas trained at Westminster Kingsway College and has cooked in both London and at the Brooks of Melbourne restaurant in Australia.

He appeared on the BBC's My Million Pound Menu in 2019 with chef Joe Allen (pictured above, right), seeking investment for their pop-up restaurant concept XXVI. Though they failed to gain backing on the programme, the pair later ran a three-month residency at Hush in Mayfair under their Indo-Nepalese brand KityCow after impressing judges Jamie Barber and Atul Kochhar.

In 2020 Thomas headed up the kitchen at Kochhar's Hawkyns in Amersham and also reached the semi-finals of MasterChef: The Professionals after critics Tracy Macleod and Jay Rayner praised his cooking.

Rumours previously served globally inspired dishes but will relaunch with Thomas' new menu on 3 August. An Instagram post on the Rumours page said the chef was bringing a "wealth of talent" to the restaurant.

"He will be cooking his own food his way and it consists of innovative modern European small plates and sharing dishes," it said.