With a huge social media following amassed, a disruptor butter brand available in the supermarket and his first restaurant – Straker’s – becoming one of the hottest tickets in London since it opened in Notting Hill in 2022, Thomas Straker is certainly a chef on the rise. We caught up with him ahead of the launch of his first cookbook, Food You Want To Eat, and the opening of his new restaurant Acre.

Throughout your career, have you had any mentors?

My parents weren’t really involved in the food scene although my mum did own a pub at one stage, so my key mentors were chefs I worked with. One of the first head chefs I worked for was Freddy Money, who now has a Michelin star out in Atlanta. He had worked for Ferran Adria, so I really admired his passion for the job and creativity. We’re still in touch now and that was 18 years ago. I also loved Phil Howard’s food and was lucky enough to work for him. His ethos is incredible. I think I have generally picked people who have a similar ethos or traits, taking advice where needed. I’m a chef but there is so much more to be done than just prepare food.

How’s Straker’s going?

It’s going really well. We’re still doing record numbers. As a chef and someone who is always striving for perfection, there is always more to do but the team are amazing and they’re really enjoying it.

What are your next projects and goals?

My next restaurant Acre should be open at the end of May and I’m just about to sign a restaurant deal in New York. Hopefully that will open in September this year. Then, we’re working on another place in London that will open later this year. The aim is to create more spaces where people can have a great time.

Are you still in the kitchen as much as you would like?

My career is at a point where I am doing so many different things that it is difficult to be in the kitchen all the time. I like to be there for the development, but I also like the chefs to have their own time to create, grow and be in control. They don’t want me looking over their shoulders all the time. They need their own moments to shine. I’m here to support and to give younger chefs more opportunities.

What’s the best part of your job?

Seeing people having fun with what we have essentially all created is the pinnacle but building our team and culture has been very satisfying. One of my chefs went to work at The Ledbury for a year when it received three stars, and he has come back to work for me because he enjoys the work environment we have created and the creativity we can offer them here. It’s all horses for courses and depends on what they want from their careers. A lad we have started when we opened as a chef de partie and now he is the head chef of the restaurant. Yesterday I ate a dish here which is probably one of the best dishes I have eaten here since we opened. That gives me a huge buzz.

What can you tell us about your new book?

It’s ingredient led food and if you follow some simple rules, cooking isn’t that difficult. Know what food to buy, master a technique, understand seasonality and flavours that work together. We also have some bits about plating up and how to make food look pretty.

What do you enjoy outside of work?

I love sport. I’m a Man United fan but I never really got that obsessed with football because as a chef, I was working Saturdays. I like the gym, running and last year I did four marathons. I even ended up doing one in Jordan last summer.

Which chefs should we be watching right now?

Max Cohen at Dorian. He is a hot ticket right now and a great guy. A lovely, genuine bloke.

What’s your favourite dish to cook?

Roast chicken. A top one for me – always. With some good Italian spinach and some crushed potatoes. I have three kids, so I cook it a lot. I like to cook for ease and maximum pleasure.

What are your three kitchen secrets for success?

  • Learn how to sharpen knives. A chef with a blunt knife is like a drill without a battery. If a builder turned up without a battery for his drill – what would you say to them?
  • Invest in your knowledge of seasonality.
  • Learn from anyone and everyone – be a sponge. Knowledge and technique will take you all the way.

Would you advise young chefs to start social media channels?

I would advise young chefs to learn how to cook first. One of the reasons I was able to grow my page online was because I could teach well, which was based on the fact that I had a knowledge of food and technique.

Where did you last eat out?

I had an amazing meal in Vienna at Mraz & Sohn. It was a banging meal. They wheeled around this trolley with these ingredients and cooked up 13 courses from it. We had a Langoustine Thermador that was absolutely knock-out and a lamb smashed burger that was insane with house fermented pickles.

Tell us about your first memories of food

I grew up in Hertfordshire, so the outdoors was my initial route into the world of food. My mum had a lovely vegetable garden, and my dad loved shooting, so they introduced me to the seasonal delights of food and drink. I remember catching my first fish when I was four years old and my dad making a barbecue to cook it on. So burnt sausages and a bit of grilled trout is an abiding memory. I wasn’t necessarily a good boy growing up, but I was always keen to help out in the kitchen when my sisters weren’t.

You’re famous as the ‘King of Butter’ and for your ‘All Things Butter’ series – did you always love butter?

I always enjoyed it on a crumpet with some raspberry jam, but it wasn’t the be all and end all. The butter series I did really came about from what people relate to, and the emotional connection they get to the content you create online. Social media does love a niche as well. First it was sandwiches, pasta and now the niches are even more obscure. For me, it was about finding a niche and butter just happened as I was making a lot of different flavoured butters through my role as a chef. People obviously liked it, it went kaboom and we ended up down a butter rabbit hole for a bit.

Are you sick to death of it then?

It kicked off about three years ago so to me it seems like it was such a long time ago now, but it has been very successful and we even created a business (The All Things Butter range is now available in Ocado, Sainsburys and Waitrose) from it that’s flying. People are still interested but there is a lot more going on and a lot more to me as a chef.

Why is your name not on the packaging or brand?

People wanted my name on it but I said no. All Things Butter is its own thing, and I wanted it to have its own identity and not be tied to my name or brand.

When did you know your career would be in food?

It’s the only job I have ever had. I left school, completed a cooking course at the Ballymaloe Cookery School in Ireland and never looked back or considered anything else. I never really thought about it and consider myself very lucky to have fallen into a job that I love. At school, I wasn’t super academic or diligent in the classroom. I had a brain but just found the classroom boring. I quickly found the kitchen completely different. I was encapsulated and I fell in ninja mode in the kitchen. It was next job, next job, learn, learn, learn. If I was writing an essay or email, I wouldn’t have the same flow and would be thinking about where my next cup of tea is coming from.

And if you weren’t a chef?

I think I would have ended up in the army. My dad was SAS, and I always loved the outdoors and being fit so the armed forces would probably have been the route I went down. The kitchen and the army have similar discipline requirements.

Was the bad boy chef image something consciously cultivated?

No, I didn’t cultivate it. And I don’t really care what people think of me. What I’m really interested in is what people think of my food and how I can share my knowledge to help home cooks make food they really want to eat.

Is it annoying?

Less now. It’s like my business partner says – “just stay in your lane”. People can say whatever they want but I try to just concentrate on what I’m doing, and that always comes back to the food.

Would you still be as happy or as successful if you didn’t have the social media following and bad boy image?

Yes, I’m very fortunate.. I do the same thing every day. I work hard. I’m in the restaurant every day at 8am. I’ve had a good career to date and I’m working really hard to ensure it stays progressive.

Is the running a mental or physical thing?

I love running. Like most runners, I hate getting out of the door but I know it’s good for me. I have a dog so I also like walking and I’m a country boy at heart so love being in nature, shooting, stalking and fishing.

What’s your view on the increases to Employer Ni and the minimum wage brought in in April?

We’re going to be £150,000 worse off in Strakers alone thanks to the government changes. It doesn’t make things any easier but we’re still building and looking to grow. There will just be less money to do that. At some point, it will have to be passed on to the customer.

What’s your favourite restaurant to eat at?

River Café. I just love the experience.

Guilty food pleasure?

You have got to love a Big Mac. My order is always two Big Macs, one of them as part of a meal. If I am hungover, that is the pinnacle.

Favourite meal of the day?

Definitely dinner. Lunch or dinner but I’m not much of a breakfast person. I fucking hate brunch as well.