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.
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.
Head Chef Abbie Hendren, has been part of the Sam’s team for the last year and I am very proud to have her heading up the Sams Waterside Brasserie. Before joining us, Abbie was Sous Chef at The Glasshouse in Kew, La Trompette in Chiswick and The Petersham Hotel in Richmond. I am very excited to see what Abbie brings to Brentford.
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.
