Shane Macneill is a multi-award-winning consultant chef who has been working in high-end and Michelin star restaurants since 1997.

After completing a Diploma in Hospitality management at Worcester College of technology, London looked like the most logical choice.

The first high-end restaurant was with the NOBU Group and it seemed that Asian cuisine was where it was going to continue until today.

After leaving Park Lane and taking the first head chef position in the group at UBON by NOBU, the seeds had been sown, it was quite daunting but turned out to be a great experience. With the closure of the restaurant looming, the group moved the scope to NOBU Paris, ARMANI/NOBU in Milan followed by NOBU St. Moritz in the Badrutt’s Palace with a pre-season pop-up in the Baur au Lac Hotel in Zurich, MATSUHISA Mykonos in the Belvedere Hotel and finally MATSUHISA Athens in the Four Seasons Astir Palace.

The eleven years with NOBU had been a giant learning curve working closely with Nobuyuki Matsuhisa himself on some of the openings.

In Milan GIORGIO ARMANI was at the restaurant several times per week which proved to be essential to the business due to his professionalism, strong work-ethic, and a genuinely caring attitude towards his staff members.

Mark Edwards, the NOBU group executive was a pure inspiration from the very beginning at NOBU Park Lane, he also organised twelve months with Jean Georges at VONG in Knightsbridge as part of a year out to learn different types of cuisine. “Mark is a knowledgeable professional and a master of his craft”.

CIPRIANI restaurants headed by Giuseppe Cipriani was an opportunity in 2010 to create a menu and work on more openings from Abu Dhabi to Ibiza, London, Monte Carlo and finally Miami over a four-year period. Throughout this period, the Cipriani family were incredibly hands on with all projects and professional with a fine eye to detail. This also helped to familiarise with Italian products and cooking techniques.

In 2015, the Bulldozer group brought NOVIKOV restaurant to Dubai, it is dedicated to serving world-class food in a stylish environment. Shane has been appointed for the opening and has successfully set-up, hired and trained the kitchen team.

In 2018 Shane began work and opened NOVIKOV in Doha, Qatar. As well as cooking and training, he managed the kitchen design, tableware order, selected suppliers, assisted HR and chose the kitchen team. NOVIKOV Doha is the first NOVIKOV restaurant for the group operating without an alcohol license and all recipes had to be adjusted to the market, which was successfully completed.

Shane has also successfully completed the opening of SHANGHAI ME restaurant in Dubai, UAE in July 2019. He has developed the menu, hired, trained the kitchen staff and has finished in October of 2021.

In December 2021 Shane started the MAYABAY project in Jumeirah Al Naseem with Orange Hospitality under the founder Omar Saideh which opened in May of 2022. As well as cooking and training, he managed the kitchen design, tableware order, selected suppliers, assisted HR and chose the kitchen team.

In 2023, Shane has been granted by the Dubai Ministry of Culture with a certificate of accreditation for the creative category of people of Culture and Art. He has also been given the UAE Golden Visa for his service and dedication to the Emirate’s Culinary scene.

In May 2024, Shane, with an experience team, created SAFE HOUSE, a hospitality consulting company. He is currently consulting for MAYABAY Dubai and other local & international projects.

Shane is married, has one child, and mainly lives in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.