Meet The Team

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SAM HARRISON

A passionate restaurateur, Sam Harrison has been involved in restaurants and hotels since the age of 16. His career has taken him all over the world, from Australia to Canada, before bringing him back to London to open his own first businesses - Sam’s Brasserie in Chiswick and Harrison’s in Balham. Prior to this, Sam was General Manager for Rick Stein’s operations in Padstow, Cornwall, and also spent two years working in Sydney. In summer 2015, after a decade of hugely successful trading, Sam sold both of his restaurants to The Hawksmoor Group. Over the subsequent couple of years, Sam honed his hospitality experience to provide consultancy, coaching and training within the industry. Encouraging great customer service and developing teams to achieve this have been Sam’s priorities, and he has enjoyed inspiring a new generation of hospitality professionals.

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Fanny Stocker started life as a waitress at Sonny’s Restaurant in Barnes. Mentored by Rebecca Mascarenhas, she then became the restaurant manager, while pursuing a degree in English Literature at Surrey University. After having children, Fanny retrained and began doing restaurant accounts and consultancy for several restaurant groups. In 2008, she started working with Sam Harrison at his Sam’s Brasserie and Harrison’s Restaurants.Sam and Fanny then founded the Genuine Restaurant Group in 2017, Sam’s Riverside in 2019, Sam’s Larder in Hammersmith in 2020, and Sam’s Larder in Chiswick in 2022.

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Upon graduating from Westminster Kingsway College with an Advanced Culinary Apprenticeship Diploma in Professional Cookery, Hospitality and Catering, Jacob Keen Downs went on to hold senior positions at The Rick Stein Group, Caprice Holdings and Petersham Nurseries. Passionate about great food and getting the most from the best seasonal ingredients, Jacob heads up the kitchen team as Head Chef of Sam's Waterside.

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Originally hailing from Sao Paulo, Ivan Ramos' early career has included bar roles at the prestigious Royal Automobile Club and Bedford & Strand. Ivan and Sam's professional relationship dates back to 2007, with the pair first working together at Harrisons and Sam’s Brasserie. Today, Ivan now oversees operations at all sites as Group Beverage Manager.

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Having originally trained with Marriott International and Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Adam Vines early career included roles with The Doyle Collection and Red Carnation Hotels, as well as operating his own pub in Bedfordshire. Having also held senior positions at Soho Farmhouse and The Ivy Collection, Adam now brings a wealth of hospitality experience to the General Manager role here at Sam’s Waterside.