Pickett, 31, joins from Mello, an 80-seat independently owned restaurant in Bromley, Kent. Before Mello, he worked at Conran Restaurants first as senior sous chef at the group's one-Michelin-starred Orrery restaurant in Marylebone, under its executive head chef, Chris Galvin, and after that as head chef at Conran's Chelsea gastrodome, Bluebird, where he stayed until 2001.
The menu for the 100-seat Aurora is expected to reflect Pickett's speciality, fish and seafood, as well as his classical training with Galvin. Terrines, meat and game confits, daubes of beef and bouillons will be offered alongside modern stalwarts such as risotto and cannelloni.
'I was happiest cooking Chris's dishes, so I tend to go down that line and mirror the respect that he had for food', Pickett said.Pickett replaces Warren Gerraghty as head chef at the restaurant. Aurora opened in November 1999 with Jonathan Wright as executive head chef.
Pickett said he was undaunted by the fact that he is the fifth chef to take charge at Aurora since the millennium. He said: 'It's a great operation here with a lot of support. My immediate goal is to maintain the three AA rosettes.'Pickett took over the nine-strong kitchen brigade at Aurora two-and-a-half weeks ago.
Pickett, 31, joins from Mello, an 80-seat independently owned restaurant in Bromley, Kent. Before Mello, he worked at Conran Restaurants first as senior sous chef at the group's one-Michelin-starred Orrery restaurant in Marylebone, under its executive head chef, Chris Galvin, and after that as head chef at Conran's Chelsea gastrodome, Bluebird, where he stayed until 2001.
The menu for the 100-seat Aurora is expected to reflect Pickett's speciality, fish and seafood, as well as his classical training with Galvin. Terrines, meat and game confits, daubes of beef and bouillons will be offered alongside modern stalwarts such as risotto and cannelloni.
'I was happiest cooking Chris's dishes, so I tend to go down that line and mirror the respect that he had for food', Pickett said.Pickett replaces Warren Gerraghty as head chef at the restaurant. Aurora opened in November 1999 with Jonathan Wright as executive head chef.
Pickett said he was undaunted by the fact that he is the fifth chef to take charge at Aurora since the millennium. He said: 'It's a great operation here with a lot of support. My immediate goal is to maintain the three AA rosettes.'Pickett took over the nine-strong kitchen brigade at Aurora two-and-a-half weeks ago.
