Leading hospitality business the Nourish Group has become Foley Hospitality, a move its owner said signals a new era for the company following a multimillion-dollar re-investment in the first year and the appointment of a national executive chef.
Auckland-based Nourish Group, which owns sites including SOUL Bar & Bistro, Andiamo, Jervois Steak House, The Brit, Shed 5 and Pravda, was acquired by Foley Holdings NZ Ltd last year. The company has announced the official name change last week, along with news that Gavin Doyle will head up kitchen culinary direction across its 10 restaurants and bars.
Doyle, executive chef at Auckland’s popular SOUL Bar & Bistro, assumes a broader role within the business and brings with him a wealth of experience having worked at restaurants across Europe, Australia and New Zealand. He has stepped into the position following the departure of Gareth Stewart, who left the group in December to pursue new opportunities as a consultant chef.
Foley Holdings NZ Ltd Director Mark Turnbull said it’s an exciting chapter for the group, which has been working closely with venue managers on the focus areas for each establishment.
“Since Foley Holdings NZ Ltd acquired the Nourish Group in July 2022, we’ve worked closely with the team on improvement initiatives across each venue,” Turnbull added.
Turnbull suggested that Foley Hospitality’s vision is to create and maintain iconic institutions to ensure relevance in the competitive hospitality environment.
“In the first year, we have prioritized re-investing directly back into the venues. These investments include a range of improvements such as new bathroom facilities in January at Pravda, a $1 million-dollar kitchen renovation at SOUL Bar & Bistro this April, and this winter Jervois Steak House in Auckland will receive a refreshed interior,” noted Turnbull.
“Whether it’s small improvements or massive renovations, we’ll be continuing to invest in our venues to safeguard their longevity, while ensuring the team and customer experience is always notching up. Next year we will focus on Shed 5 in Wellington and The Chamberlain in Auckland.”
Turnbull also said that as the company moves forward, it will look at itself as being one team per venue, changing ‘front of house’ to being the ‘guest experience team’, and swapping ‘back of house’ to ‘culinary team’.
Renowned for his award-winning dishes and exceptional presentation, Doyle has been at SOUL Bar & Bistro since 2016 and said he is thrilled to take on the new challenge.
“I’m passionate about quality food and service, and delivering both consistently day in, day out,” Doyle said. “We’ve got an incredibly talented crew across our 10 venues and I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into the step change.
“It’s clear to me we have an amazing team who are deeply passionate about what they do. We’re excited to showcase all our restaurants have to offer.”
