i. Biography
In Mdina, Malta, the cooking was built from island materials and regular supplier contact: grouper from familiar waters, eggplant cooked for depth, tomato fondue carrying Mediterranean sweetness and acidity, and local produce bought through the working cadence of farmers, butchers, and fishmongers. In Kevin Bonello’s kitchens, place was not treated as decoration; it was handled through sourcing, seasoning, timing, and the polish expected in a luxury-hotel restaurant. That method now sits in York, England, where Kevin Bonello is Executive Head Chef at The Grand, York, a 2024–present role shaped by sustainable gastronomy and the sourcing of local ingredients. The change of country does not erase the Maltese foundation. It puts an island-trained approach to produce, restraint, and exacting craft inside one of York’s landmark addresses. “I would say the first dish I ever learnt to cook was a proper French omelette. Made by tempering the pan with salt and folding in the centre to create the perfect soft omelette – delicious!” Kevin has said.
Career Arc
Formal training and polished service formed the base: Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS) and The Berkeley Hotel gave Kevin Bonello early exposure to both education and hotel-standard execution. The practical work began as Apprentice Chef at Ristorante Cosmana Navarra in Rabat, Malta, where repetition, service pressure, seasoning, timing, and accumulated judgement did the usual work of turning training into kitchen competence. Luxury-property cooking and Maltese ingredient work came together at The Xara Palace Relais & Chateaux, where Kevin Bonello became Chef de Cuisine. The role required locality to be disciplined into a fine-dining register. At De Mondion in Mdina, Malta, as Head Chef, that same discipline was applied in one of the island’s closely watched dining rooms. As Culinary Director at Xara Collection (until 2024), the work widened from cooking and menu direction into leadership, consistency, and culinary identity across a collection. The current post, Executive Head Chef of The Grand, York (since 2024), carries that Maltese and luxury-hotel training into England. The through-line is craft apprenticeship, exacting kitchens, and a mature focus on sourcing, sustainability, and the use of local ingredients.
The Work Today
Since 2024, the role at The Grand, York, England has placed Kevin Bonello in a kitchen context defined by sustainable gastronomy and local sourcing. The background behind it is years of menus built around Maltese produce, careful buying, and supplier relationships that linked the restaurant to farmers, butchers, and fishmongers. The working habit is to read beyond the finished plate: season, source, quality, and purpose all come before composition. At The De Mondion Restaurant in Mdina, the kitchen brigade revisited the menu weekly to stay ahead with gastronomic trends while remaining sustainable and highlighting local produce. Weekly revision is a practical discipline. Ingredients move, availability tightens or opens, quality changes, and the brigade has to respond without losing the restaurant’s line. In Kevin Bonello’s work, that rhythm supported a view of luxury as closeness to the source rather than distance from it. Constant revision, close buying, and local ingredients remain the readable method. The setting has shifted from Malta to The Grand, York, but the underlying craft logic is consistent: sustainable gastronomy, respect for suppliers, and measured handling of ingredients so provenance can do useful work on the menu.
Signature
Signature dishes include Seared Grouper with Eggplant. The dish reads through direct Mediterranean handling: grouper for clean, firm sea character; eggplant for softness, savor, and depth. In Kevin Bonello’s repertoire, it marks the Maltese foundation clearly without relying on excess ornament.
Distinctions
Recognition includes MICHELIN Guide one star for De Mondion (2020). That award sits inside a career of steady refinement: Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS) and The Berkeley Hotel; Ristorante Cosmana Navarra in Rabat, Malta; The Xara Palace Relais & Chateaux; De Mondion in Mdina, Malta; Culinary Director at Xara Collection (until 2024); and Executive Head Chef at The Grand, York (since 2024). Across those posts, Kevin Bonello’s cooking has stayed tied to local produce, careful sourcing, sustainable thinking, and the expressive value of well-chosen ingredients.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Kevin
What does Kevin Bonello do now?
Kevin Bonello is Executive Head Chef.
Where did Kevin Bonello train or study?
Kevin Bonello trained at Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS) and The Berkeley Hotel.
What recognition has Kevin Bonello received?
MICHELIN Guide one star for De Mondion (2020).
