CHEF-OWNER, THE OLD STAMP HOUSE AND THE SCHELLY, AMBLESIDE
What is your current role, and what does it involve?
I am the chef-owner, so I oversee everything from menu development and kitchen operations to sourcing our local ingredients and maintaining close relationships with the producers we work with. I also take part in projects outside the restaurants, such as educational initiatives with local schools.
How long have you been a chef?
I’ve been working in kitchens for most of my life, growing up in a family deeply involved in hospitality. I officially became head chef early in my career, but food has always been part of my life.
How did you first get into cooking?
Some of my earliest memories are of my father cooking in the kitchens of our family’s hospitality businesses in Great Langdale. Being around food and service was just part of everyday life, so I absorbed it naturally rather than choosing it deliberately at first.
Where did you learn your craft?
I learned my craft through a combination of family influence, formal training, and working in various kitchens, including Restaurant Martin Wishart, Holbeck Ghyll in its heyday and as the head chef at Cottage in the Wood, Whinlatter Forest, before opening my first Restaurant – the Old Stamp House. My classical training helped refine the skills I had grown up with, allowing me to blend tradition with technique.
What was your first job in hospitality?
Working in my parents’ pub near Coniston was my first real experience. That is where I learned about running a kitchen, serving guests, and the importance of local produce.
What is your signature dish?
I don’t really have a signature dish, but if I were pushed, it would be Herdwick lamb. Having said that, our spiced mead velouté is something I’ll never take off the menu; it’s a constant and is always evolving. Both have taught me the importance of letting the ingredient guide the cooking and have shaped the way I approach all the dishes I cook.
What’s been your worst cooking disaster?
There were a couple of events last year in Bulgaria and Liverpool that didn’t go the way I wanted them to – but I’ll leave it at that.
What are your culinary ambitions?
My ambition is to keep evolving as a chef, constantly developing, and finding ways to improve. Success for me is about growth rather than accolades. I want to continue championing local produce and inspiring both my team and the next generation of cooks.
What do you like to eat?
Fish and shellfish – especially Carabineros prawns, which I ate celebrating winning my Michelin star, which I savoured alongside a glass of Champagne.
How do you achieve a work/life balance?
We work a four-day week, which we never deviate from, and we have a holiday roughly every eight weeks to coincide with school holidays. We plan the breaks 18 months in advance, so everyone knows the score.
If you were on a desert island, what five ingredients would you take with you?
Salt, olive oil, garlic, citrus fruit, and flour.
Best dish and drink combo for after a shift?
Mug of tea and a piece of fruit – absolute winner.
Favourite pub in the UK?
Heft, Newton in Cartmel, is one we visit a fair bit; their Sunday lunch offering – Sunday Service is pretty unique.
What is the best advice you were given?
It came from a Michelin inspector, who said after an inspection, keep doing what you do, keep your customers happy, and if you have a busy restaurant with happy customers, the awards will follow.
What is your favourite cookbook?
Countryman’s Cooking by W. M. Fowler.
If you hadn’t gone into the kitchen, what would be your career of choice?
I would have loved to have worked outside, either as a gillie or a gamekeeper.
What do you love most about your job?
I love being able to work with incredible local ingredients, create dishes that reflect the landscape and heritage of Cumbria, and share those experiences with guests. The relationships I have with suppliers and the team make it particularly rewarding.
What frustrates you about the industry?
I am frustrated when restaurants choose imported products like Wagyu beef over local, regenerative meat, especially given the challenges faced by local farmers and the importance of sustainability and social responsibility.
What do you consider your biggest achievement?
My family, my children and all that they are starting to achieve in their own journeys. Closely followed by retaining a Michelin star since 2019.
What do you have planned for the rest of 2026?
I am involved in a project with the local charity Waste into Wellbeing, teaching Year 5 pupils across Kendal how to cook while raising awareness about food waste, nutrition, and healthy choices. It is exciting to pass on knowledge and inspire the next generation while championing sustainability and local produce.
Find out more
For more information visit The Old Stamphouse website.
