The FINANCIAL -- Michelin-starred Petersham Nurseries Café in Richmond, Surrey, has has confirmed that head chef Skye Gyngell has left the restaurant after eight years.

According to Caterer and Hotelkeeper, the restaurant and garden centre, which opened in 2004, has appointed Australian chef Greg Malouf as Gyngell's successor. Malouf, who has been a guest chef at Petersham, previously ran the Mo Mo restaurant in Melbourne.

Famous for his Modern Middle Eastern cuisine, chef and cookery book author Malouf was born in Australia to Lebanese parents and after serving his formal apprenticeship in Melbourne went on to work in France, Italy, Austria and Hong Kong. In 1991 he set up O'Connell's in Melbourne, and in 2001 joined Mo Mo as executive chef.

Gyngell had been head chef at Petersham Nurseries Café since it first opened in 2004 and last year gained a Michelin star for her cooking. She has published three books and is a regular contributor to the Independent on Sunday, Vogue and Delicious.

In 2009, Petersham Nurseries was granted a mixed-use planning application, after it won a four-year dispute with Richmond Council over parking and the level of traffic around the site.

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