Rory Shepherd

The Climb

Behind the bar in pubs in Scotland, Rory Shepherd learned the repetitive, necessary work that keeps service moving. Later, as a student at university in London, he moved between study and the late-night pull of cocktail bars, before taking a step into cocktail bars at The Underdog in Shoreditch. That shift marked a move from early exposure to a more focused bar career. Co-founder at The Shrubbery, Rory Shepherd then took on the pressures that come with shaping a venue from the ground up. The next roles, as bar manager at The Library and later bar manager at Le Ballroom in Paris, added another layer of operational experience. Taken together, the sequence shows a working knowledge of bars as systems: people, timing and detail in constant balance. Today, Rory is head of operations of Little Red Door and head of operations and creativity of Bonomy group.

Today

At Little Red Door in Paris, Rory Shepherd serves as head of operations, a role that depends on structure as much as flexibility. The brief he gives himself is direct: “I had to create a menu that was simple and creative at the same time.” That tells you what the work asks for — clarity, restraint and enough invention to keep the drinks moving forward without overcomplicating the line-up. The bar’s development process follows the same logic. At Little Red Door, the menu is built by the whole team, with drinks tested and fine-tuned together. It is a collaborative method that treats iteration as part of the job, and keeps the work grounded in the room rather than in one person’s hand. The remit widens across the Bonomy group, where Rory Shepherd is head of operations and creativity for Little Red Door, Lulu White and Bonhomie. “I am head of operations and creativity for the whole Bonomy group, which includes Little Red Door, Lulu White and Bonhomie.” The title sits at the intersection of concept, coordination and the practical realities of running multiple venues.

Signature

Rory's signature dishes include Strenght and Trident. In the broader frame of his work, they read as concise markers of style: named precisely, and folded into a menu language that values clarity as much as personality.

In Their Words “I am head of operations and creativity for the whole Bonomy group, which includes Little Red Door, Lulu White and Bonhomie.” “I had to create a menu that was simple and creative at the same time.”

Recognition

The clearest marker of Rory Shepherd’s standing is the scope of the Bonomy group remit, which includes Little Red Door, Lulu White and Bonhomie. It signals the distance traveled from pubs in Scotland and the level of operational responsibility now carried across a group shaped by creativity, coordination and the discipline of service.