LONDON, Nov 5 — Chef Simon Rogan, whose Cumbria restaurant L’Enclume was named the best in the UK this year, has been tapped to replace Gordon Ramsay at luxury London hotel Claridge’s.

After much speculation, the five-star hotel announced that the Cartmel chef, whose cuisine hinges on British tradition and locally sourced seasonal ingredients, will helm a new restaurant expected to open next spring.

Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s served its last meal in June after 12 years of residing at the hotel. The two parted ways after failing to agree on terms of their contract.

“We are very excited about bringing Simon Rogan to Claridge’s. He is a home-grown British talent and we believe his inspiring culinary concept for the hotel will lead the way for a new dining direction, building on the bold approach for which Claridge’s has always been known,” said Claridge’s general manager Thomas Kochs.

The restaurant will also mark Rogan’s first London outpost.

“I have long been looking for a permanent London home and in Claridge’s I feel we have found a true partnership of creativity and world-class excellence,” Rogan said in a statement.

Rogan’s farm-to-table restaurant L’Enclume is set in the medieval village of Cartmel in the bucolic English countryside and holds two Michelin stars. Editors of “The Good Food Guide” named it the best restaurant in the UK 2014.— AFP-Relaxnews