Restaurant boss ‘shocked and honoured’ by top personality award
Don’t miss Saturday’s magazine for a full interview with Owen Morgan
A WELSHMAN behind a popular group of restaurants in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan has spoken of his delight at picking up a top award.
Owen Morgan, director and cofounder of the Bar 44 Tapas y Copas Group, has been named Restaurant Personality of the Year at the Imbibe awards in London.
Owen was the only Welsh representative up against seven other acclaimed restaurateurs from across the UK.
Owen set up the first Bar 44 in 2002, in Cowbridge, at the age of 21 with his brother, Tom, and sister, Natalie. The start of the business saw Owen working 110-hour weeks, cooking, cleaning, working shifts as a waiter, and managing finances and marketing while building a loyal customer base. And 16 years later Bar 44 in Cowbridge is still going strong.
Together with his siblings, Owen has set up two more Bar 44 restaurants – in Penarth, and in Cardiff ’s Westgate Street.
The latest project saw Asador 44 open in Quay Street, Cardiff, which gained an entry into the Good Food Guide and Michelin Guide within six months.
Owen – a certified sherry educator – said: “I’m both shocked and humbled to win this award. I was up against some of my hospitality heroes so I was honoured just to be nominated. To win is testament to the incredible teams pushing us forward to constantly achieve excellence across our bars and restaurants.”
Now in its eighth year, the Imbibe awards were set up to shine a light on those making a difference in the hospitality industry. The entrants are judged by industry peers, including the likes of restaurateur George Bergier, The Connaught Bar’s Ago Perrone and restaurateur and food writer Adam Byatt.
Owen added: “If I can get one more person every day to start drinking dry sherry, a wine from a region or grape previously unknown to them, or try a tartare of Ibérico pork for example, it’s a win.”