Couple behind Michelin two-star restaurant Aimsir to quit roles
Chef Jordan Bailey and wife Majken Bech-Bailey
The couple behind Aimsir restaurant, which earned two Michelin stars just four months after opening, have announced their resignations from the restaurant and the wider Cliff group.
Jordan Bailey, chef-patron at the Michelin two-star restaurant in Cliff at Lyons hotel in Celbridge, Co Kildare, and his wife, Majken Bech-Bailey, who previously ran front-of-house operations, will leave their roles this April.
Bailey’s final dinner service at the restaurant will be on Saturday, April 15. Bech-Bailey is currently on maternity leave.
In a statement released on social media on Monday morning, Bailey said: “After five years, myself and Majken decided recently that we will be moving on from Aimsir and the wider Cliff Group.
“Since our first days here, my wife and I have married and had a baby girl and have fallen in love with Ireland but, although the current team at Aimsir is the finest I have ever worked with and I am very proud of what our team delivers every service, we both feel the time is right to move on.
“We both know exactly what we want to do next in Ireland and hope to announce that later in the year. We would like to thank all of our exceptional team who have worked with us at Aimsir since we opened, and all our wonderful guests, friends and suppliers.
"Majken and myself have received nothing but widespread welcome, positivity and support since we came to Ireland, something we have appreciated more than I can ever say, and we look forward to our next chapter in this country.”
The restaurant’s owners said it has "begun recruitment for a new chef patron to spearhead the next phase of its development" which, will include a new "Aimsir Innovation Hub".
"Aimsir is intent on creating a new centre of excellence, with the ultimate goal of achieving the restaurant’s third Michelin star in the near future.”
The restaurant will "briefly close" following Bailey's departure, and is expected to reopen in May 2023.
Bailey was formerly head chef of Oslo’s three Michelin star restaurant, Maaemo, but relocated with his wife in 2018 to set up Aimsir, with the restaurant opening in May 2019.
The kitchen serves food, as much as possible, entirely from produce from the island of Ireland. In 2019, our reviewer Leslie Williams said Aimsir "might be the most exciting Irish restaurant opening in a decade".
