David Nicholls founded nsif following an accident in which his son, Daniel, was left paralysed from the neck down.
Nicholls, firmly established as one of the world’s finest hotel chefs, began his early career focusing on high profile restaurants offering classical French cooking including The Lodge at Limpfield and Walton’s in Chelsea, at which he received many coveted awards, including Michelin stars and also the coveted Chef of the Year Catey award in 2005.
In 1987, Nicholls accepted the broader challenge of the hotel industry by returning as Executive Chef at the Intercontinental, London, followed by The Royal Garden in 1990. He was then appointed Chef at The Ritz, London responsible for a brigade of 50, and is credited with putting The Ritz restaurant back on the culinary road to success. The restaurant, with Nicholls at the helm, enjoyed its greatest success when Mandarin Oriental took over the management of the hotel.
Today David is Group Director of Food and Beverage, responsible for Mandarin Oriental’s food and beverage interests on a global basis. He joined Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park in November 1996 as Director of Food and Beverage and Executive Chef, and was promoted to his current position in 2007.
Mr Nicholls has over 30 years of relevant experience, and under his tenure some of the world’s most distinguished culinary talent has joined Mandarin Oriental, including Heston Blumenthal, Daniel Boulud and Thierry Marx.
