Steve Dembry

STEVE DEMBRY, 31, has taken up the challenge after a career that has seen him working at venues such as Claridges, in London, and The Vermont and Pitcher and Piano, in Newcastle.

He will recruit kitchen and restaurant staff and devise a menu to put the restaurant on the Newcastle dining map.

Born and brought up in the region, Mr Dembry, who learned his trade at North Tyneside College, began his career at Claridges restaurant, in London, to get experience of working in a big kitchen.

Having achieved that, he returned to the region to work at the Swallow Gosforth Park as commis chef. From there, he moved to the nearby four-star luxury hotel The Vermont, where he rose through the ranks to the position of sous chef.

He then spent six years as head chef at the Pitcher and Piano, on Newcastle's Quayside, before returning to The Vermont as senior sous chef.

He said: "I was eager for the challenge of starting a restaurant from scratch and Bannatyne's fitted the bill perfectly. Although the restaurant shares its location with a casino, we want people to use it in its own right, regardless of whether they are interested in gambling or not."

Nick Malone, chief executive officer of Bannatyne's Casino, said: "We want to make the casino a destination for a night out for both gamblers and non-gamblers, a place where both individuals and parties will want to spend the entire evening.

"The Bannatyne's Restaurant will have a major part to play in us achieving that goal."

The new £5m casino and restaurant is being built in St Ann's Road, near the Millennium Bridge, and will create more than 80 jobs.