Tom Aikens is one of the UK’s most acclaimed and inspirational British chefs. Growing up in Norfolk, with a father working in the wine industry and a childhood spent gardening and cooking with his mother, Tom learnt how to make use of the freshest ingredients, putting food at the centre of his life from a very early age. As a child, Tom and his twin brother Rob would help their mother in the kitchen with the preparation of cakes, biscuits, jams, chutneys and home cooked meals using fresh vegetables picked from their garden.
Spending most holidays in France, Tom began to develop a love for French food which inspired him to develop his cooking skills further. Tom enrolled at the City College Norwich, completing an Advanced Catering Diploma in 1989, before beginning his career at Michelin-starred Cavalier’s in Battersea, London. He then moved on to The Capital Hotel working under Philip Britten, followed by a chef-de-partie position with Pierre Koffmann at La Tante Claire at a time when the restaurant was awarded with its third Michelin star. Tom later worked for Joel Robuchon in Paris, Gérard Boyer in Reims and Pied-à-Terre to name a few. It was in Pied-à-Terre that Tom became the youngest British chef ever to be awarded two Michelin stars, aged just 26. Tom currently holds a Michelin star at his flagship restaurant, Muse in London.
In 2000, Tom decided to take some time out of the restaurant kitchen and immerse himself into the world of farming, working alongside Carole Bamford, eventually opening Daylesford Organics for the family. Tom’s aim was to learn more about locally grown organic produce, the importance of traceability and sustainability, whilst also gaining experience in the abattoir, deciding with farmers the best breeds and cuts for the farm’s shop.
Tom’s stance towards sustainability has been long-standing, with seasonality and locally sourced produce being incredibly important factors in the preparation of a menu for Tom. He believes in harvesting the freshest ingredients that the changing seasons bring. He is an avid forager and favours using small and local producers whom he knows and trusts that are just as passionate about growing or rearing their wares as Tom is about cooking them. Tom never uses produce that has been flown into the country from thousands of miles away and is out of season, unless it is tropical fruit. Food that is unsustainable and harvested/caught without respect for nature and the environment is strictly against Tom’s beliefs. Supporting locally based suppliers is central to Tom’s ethos, this includes using only locally caught fish: he will never serve tuna, Chilian sea bass, swordfish or any fish that is not from local fishermen. An ethos of simplicity pervades his restaurants, with the focus on seasonal and home-made ingredients. This stripped-back approach to cooking has nowhere to hide flaws; in his technique and execution of perfect simplicity, Tom Aikens is truly a chef’s chef.
Tom has been on the London food scene for almost 30 years now, he has amassed a huge amount of experience and knowledge on delivering the very best in his restaurants in the U.K and further afield. Tom has created many different restaurant concepts, from the fast & casual to fine dining, delivering all variations of taste and concept needs. He has mastered many cuisines, from British comfort food, health & wellness, to Asian inspired and Mediterranean. Having run restaurants all over the world, from London to the Middle East & Far East, Tom and his team can handle the diversity and complexity of any restaurant opening or high-profile event.
