Apes Hill Barbados has appointed British chef Sophie Michell to lead the development of its food and beverage offering across the luxury golf resort.
Michell, who has more than three decades of hospitality experience, will work with the existing culinary team on restaurant concepts and in-villa dining. The partnership will emphasise seasonal Barbadian ingredients and produce grown within the Apes Hill community.
Restaurant and villa dining plans
The first phase will refresh the dining concepts at The 20th Hole and Noisy Cricket. Michell will also develop recipes and operating standards, while helping the resort introduce event dining, visiting-chef collaborations and premium meals served in guests’ villas.
Menus will focus on fresh local produce, straightforward cooking and carefully sourced ingredients. Apes Hill said the changes would support its farm-to-table approach, wellbeing programme and environmental work.
“I’ve always believed that the very best food starts with exceptional ingredients,” Michell said. “Barbados offers an incredible abundance of wonderful flavours from many talented farmers, while Apes Hill grows its own produce across its own unique landscape and community. Bringing those together creates something genuinely special.”
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Michell brings restaurant and television experience
Michell trained in Michelin-starred kitchens including Le Gavroche, The Greenhouse, The Lanesborough and The Embassy. She later became the UK’s youngest female executive chef when she took charge of the food and beverage department at Belgraves Hotel, before serving as Food & Drink Director for Byron.
Her career has also included work as a private chef for Claudia Schiffer, while her other clients have included Leonardo DiCaprio and David Cameron. She cooked for King Charles III on the evening Barbados became a republic.
Michell has appeared on Channel 4’s Cook Yourself Thin and written eight cookbooks. She has lived in Barbados since 2020 and co-founded Local & Co, a restaurant built around farm-to-table cooking.
Apes Hill builds its wider resort offering
Michell will work closely with Senior Chef Lana Murrell, winner of the 2026 Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association Taste of Barbados Competition. Murrell’s colleague Aleyanna Garraway placed third in the competition’s Junior Chef category.
Apes Hill executive chairman Sunil Chatrani said Michell’s understanding of Barbados and ingredients-led approach matched the resort’s emphasis on authenticity, quality and connection to its surroundings.
The partnership extends Apes Hill’s investment beyond its championship golf course, adding dining and hospitality to its golf travel experiences. The next phase will bring the revised restaurant concepts together with new events and private dining across the resort.
For more information about Apes Hill Barbados, please click HERE.
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Simon Bale
Simon Bale is the publisher of Golf Today. A low single-figure handicap golfer, he was previously a major shareholder and course reviewer for Top100GolfCourses.com for over a decade, starting in 2010. Through this role, he developed extensive knowledge of golf course design and architecture while playing more than 300 courses worldwide.