Angela Hartnett is the British chef and restaurateur behind Murano in Mayfair, a one-Michelin-star Italian restaurant she has led since 2010, and the Cafe Murano group of casual Italian restaurants across London. Born Angela Maria Hartnett on 7 September 1968 in Upminster, Essex, she trained under Gordon Ramsay at Aubergine and Gordon Ramsay at Royal Hospital Road before opening Angela Hartnett at The Connaught in 2003. Murano retains its Michelin star in the 2026 Michelin Guide Great Britain and Ireland, marking 16 years of continuous star-level recognition under her leadership.
Hartnett’s portfolio expanded significantly in 2025 with the September launch of Cicoria, a new Italian restaurant and terrace bar at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. The Cafe Murano group continues to operate across St James’s, Covent Garden, Bermondsey and Marylebone, with the Marylebone site confirmed as a recent expansion. Hartnett also remains creative director at Hartnett Holder & Co. at Lime Wood in the New Forest and at Merchants Tavern in Shoreditch. Her half-Italian, half-Welsh family heritage underpins the Italian-rooted cooking across all ventures.
TL;DR
- British chef born 7 September 1968 in Upminster, Essex
- Italian-Welsh heritage shapes her Italian-rooted cooking
- Trained under Gordon Ramsay at Aubergine and Royal Hospital Road
- Chef-patron of Murano, Mayfair (one Michelin star since 2009; retained 2026)
- 2025: Cicoria at Royal Opera House opens September 2025; Cafe Murano Marylebone expansion
Angela Hartnett key facts
| Born | 7 September 1968, Upminster, Essex, UK |
| Full name | Angela Maria Hartnett |
| Nationality | British (half-Italian, half-Welsh heritage) |
| Flagship restaurant | Murano, 20 Queen Street, Mayfair, London (opened 2008) |
| Michelin status | One Michelin star at Murano since 2009; retained 2026 |
| Training | Cambridge Jesus College; Gordon Ramsay at Aubergine and Gordon Ramsay at Royal Hospital Road; Amaryllis Glasgow; Verre Dubai |
| Other ventures | Cafe Murano (St James, Covent Garden, Bermondsey, Marylebone); Cicoria at Royal Opera House (2025); Hartnett Holder & Co. at Lime Wood; Merchants Tavern |
Early life and training of Angela Hartnett
Hartnett was born on 7 September 1968 in Upminster, Essex, to an Italian mother whose family came from Bardi in Emilia-Romagna and a Welsh father. She grew up in Essex, surrounded by her maternal grandparents’ cooking, and has said in interviews that Nonna Anna and the Bardi extended family shaped her entire culinary vocabulary before she entered a professional kitchen. She read History at Jesus College, Cambridge, and graduated in 1990.
After Cambridge, Hartnett did not immediately enter cooking. She worked briefly in hospitality on cruise ships before joining Aubergine in Chelsea in 1994 under a young Gordon Ramsay. The kitchen included the generation of chefs who defined British fine dining in the 1990s and 2000s, among them Marcus Wareing and Mark Sargeant. Hartnett followed Ramsay through the moves that built the Gordon Ramsay group: Aubergine, Petrus, and in 1998 the opening of Gordon Ramsay at Royal Hospital Road, which earned three Michelin stars.
In 2001 Hartnett opened Amaryllis in Glasgow for the Gordon Ramsay group, earning a Michelin star within 12 months as the first female chef in Scotland to hold a star. In 2002 she opened Verre in Dubai, one of the first serious fine-dining restaurants in the United Arab Emirates. In 2003 she returned to London to open Angela Hartnett at The Connaught in Mayfair, which earned a Michelin star in 2005. In 2008 she left the Ramsay group to open her own restaurant, Murano, at 20 Queen Street in Mayfair, which earned a Michelin star in 2009.
Angela Hartnett career timeline
- 7 September 1968: Born in Upminster, Essex
- 1987-1990: Reads History at Jesus College, Cambridge
- 1994: Joins Aubergine, Chelsea, under Gordon Ramsay
- 1998: Gordon Ramsay at Royal Hospital Road opens; Hartnett is part of the opening team
- 2001: Opens Amaryllis in Glasgow; first female chef in Scotland to hold a Michelin star
- 2002: Opens Verre in Dubai, one of the first fine-dining restaurants in the UAE
- 2003: Opens Angela Hartnett at The Connaught in Mayfair
- 2005: The Connaught earns a Michelin star under Hartnett
- 2007: Appointed MBE in the New Year Honours for services to the hospitality industry
- 2008: Leaves Gordon Ramsay Holdings; opens Murano at 20 Queen Street, Mayfair, in September
- 2009: Murano earns a Michelin star
- 2010: Buys Murano outright from Gordon Ramsay; becomes chef-patron
- 2013: Opens Cafe Murano, St James’s, the casual Italian sister restaurant
- 2014-2018: Cafe Murano expansion to Covent Garden, Bermondsey
- 2015: Launches Hartnett Holder & Co at Lime Wood in the New Forest with Luke Holder
- 2015: Opens Merchants Tavern in Shoreditch with Neil Borthwick and Fred Smith
- 2020: Appointed CBE in the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours
- 2023-2024: Cafe Murano Marylebone opens
- September 2025: Cicoria opens at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
- 2026: Murano retains Michelin star in the 2026 Michelin Guide Great Britain and Ireland
Angela Hartnett signature style: Italian-rooted cooking with British seasonality
Hartnett central argument is that Italian regional cooking, with its seasonal produce focus and family-table register, is the most durable foundation for a fine-dining kitchen when translated through British ingredient sourcing. Murano menu in Mayfair moves between Emilia-Romagna (her maternal family origin) and broader Italian regional traditions, always with British market-garden vegetables and British meat and fish as the underlying sourcing. The approach has held a Michelin star continuously since 2009 and is cited by the current generation of British-Italian chefs as one of the defining London Italian fine-dining templates.
The second defining element is the multi-format hospitality group. Beyond Murano, Hartnett operates Cafe Murano as a casual Italian sister group (four London sites), Hartnett Holder & Co as a country-house format at Lime Wood in the New Forest, Merchants Tavern as a Shoreditch neighbourhood restaurant, and now Cicoria at the Royal Opera House as a venue-specific format. The portfolio parallels the multi-format group structure of Michel Roux Jr. and other senior London chefs.
The third pillar is public voice. Hartnett has been a long-running co-host of the BBC Radio 4 food programme The Kitchen Cabinet, a judge on Masterchef: The Professionals and Great British Menu, and a frequent press commentator on working conditions in professional kitchens. Her public role has paralleled that of Nigella Lawson and other senior British food-media figures, though in a more professional-kitchen register.
Notable dishes at Murano
Several Murano dishes have become reference points in London Italian fine dining. The tortellini in brodo, a classical Emilia-Romagna preparation tied to her Bardi family heritage, has been on the menu in various forms since the 2008 opening. The gnocchi with wild mushroom and Parmigiano, the rabbit and prune agnolotti with sage butter, and the whole roasted fish with salsa verde are long-running signatures. Her cookbooks Cucina (2007), A Taste of Home (2013) and Rialto (2019) document the Italian-family-table approach. From Gordon Ramsay: Passion for Flavour, co-authored with Ramsay in the 1990s, is an early text. Her BBC television work includes Angela and Neil’s Market Kitchen (2009).
Angela Hartnett awards and recognition
- 2001: Michelin star at Amaryllis Glasgow (first female chef in Scotland to hold a star)
- 2005: Michelin star at The Connaught
- 2007: Appointed MBE for services to the hospitality industry
- 2009: Michelin star at Murano
- 2009-2026: Michelin star held continuously at Murano for 17 years
- 2020: Appointed CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours
- Multiple Craft Guild of Chefs Awards and Cateys nominations
- 2026: Murano Michelin star retained in Michelin Guide Great Britain and Ireland
Angela Hartnett impact on British-Italian cooking
Hartnett most concrete contribution is the 17-year run of Murano with a Michelin star continuously since 2009. The restaurant has been the reference point for London Italian fine dining for nearly two decades and has shaped how British-Italian chefs approach the regional-Italian-at-fine-dining-level question. The 2025 Cicoria opening at the Royal Opera House extends the Italian register into a venue-specific format and signals that the Hartnett group continues to grow.
The second contribution is the Gordon Ramsay training lineage. Hartnett trained under Gordon Ramsay at Aubergine and Royal Hospital Road in the 1990s and followed Ramsay through the openings that defined British fine dining at the turn of the millennium, alongside Marcus Wareing, Mark Sargeant, and others. Her 2008 departure from the Gordon Ramsay group to open Murano independently was one of the most-watched chef-ownership transitions of its era and proved the viability of the British-Italian model at fine-dining level.
The third contribution is public voice. Through The Kitchen Cabinet on BBC Radio 4, Masterchef: The Professionals, and frequent press commentary, Hartnett has become one of the most-heard British chef voices on working conditions in professional kitchens and the gender balance of the industry. Her position alongside Nigella Lawson as a senior British female food-media figure has shaped how younger British women enter the industry.
Angela Hartnett FAQ
How many Michelin stars does Murano have?
One Michelin star at Murano in Mayfair, held continuously since 2009 and retained in the 2026 Michelin Guide Great Britain and Ireland. The 17-year continuous star run is one of the longest single-star records in London Italian fine dining.
Is Angela Hartnett Italian?
She is British with half-Italian, half-Welsh heritage. Her mother’s family is from Bardi in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, and the Italian side of the family shaped her entire culinary vocabulary. She grew up in Upminster, Essex, and has cited her Italian grandmother Nonna Anna as her most important culinary influence.
Where did she train?
At Aubergine in Chelsea and Gordon Ramsay at Royal Hospital Road under Gordon Ramsay during the 1990s and early 2000s, alongside Marcus Wareing and Mark Sargeant. She also opened Amaryllis in Glasgow (2001) and Verre in Dubai (2002) under the Gordon Ramsay group before returning to London.
What is Cicoria?
A new Italian restaurant and terrace bar at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, which opened in September 2025. Cicoria is an Italian-dining venue with views of Covent Garden and is part of the Royal Opera House dining portfolio. It is Hartnett’s newest London venture.
How many Cafe Murano sites are there?
Four London sites: St James’s (the original 2013 location), Covent Garden, Bermondsey, and Marylebone. Cafe Murano is the casual Italian sister format of Murano Mayfair and operates with a simpler Italian trattoria register and a lower price point.
What is next for Angela Hartnett
Following the September 2025 Cicoria launch at the Royal Opera House and the Cafe Murano Marylebone expansion, Hartnett continues to lead Murano and the wider Hartnett group. She remains creative director at Hartnett Holder & Co. at Lime Wood and at Merchants Tavern, and continues as co-host of BBC Radio 4’s The Kitchen Cabinet. Her public Instagram (@angelahartnett) is the best source for current updates.
