Whitbread brings in food supremo from Wagamama

Lento joins the operator of the Brewers Fayre, Beefeater Grill and Table Table brands from international noodle chain Wagamama, where he was head of food. He also spent time at Maxwell’s Restaurant Group, Universal Studios and the Grill on the Alley in Beverly Hills, USA.

His appointment comes as the group looks to “flex its muscles” in the pub-restaurant sector. It is repositioning its three core pub-restaurant brands as it seeks a wider consumer audience.

It recently appointed Michelle Durrant, formerly of Mitchells & Butlers, as its new retail trading director as it looks to instil a “retail trading mentality” to its pub-restaurants.

Last year, it brought in David Murdin as marketing director to oversee the refurbishment of a number of sites and the evolution of its menu offer. Lento is expected to continue with the update of the menu.

Whitbread also launched a number of initiatives last year, including the rollout of free Wi-Fi, as it looked to close the sales gap with its competitors in the pub-restaurant market, and has started to see progress in terms of performance.
Earlier this month, Whitbread said a “sharper focus” in its restaurants business helped maintain an improved performance.

Like-for-like sales across the division, which includes the Taybarns brand, climbed 2.1% during the 13 weeks to 31 May, with total sales up 5%. It reported total covers growth of 7.4%.

Last summer, it rolled out a £7.99 all-you-can-eat-and-drink breakfast offer.