Dorset-born Ashley Palmer-Watts started working in restaurants at the age of thirteen. Twenty-three years on, he’s now Executive Chef at the two-Michelin-starred Dinner at London’s beautiful Mandarin Oriental Hotel on Hyde Park, while also Culinary Director of the Fat Duck Group.
Dinner’s full name is Dinner by Heston Blumenthal and Palmer-Watts is his protégé. As Blumenthal said when Dinner opened, “I’m utterly confident of putting Ash out under my name. It was always going to be Ash. I simply wouldn’t have done this if it wasn’t for him.”
This confidence is well-placed and Dinner has continued to win plaudits and awards for its unique mission: helping to salvage the reputation of British cuisine past by celebrating the country’s ancient dishes. Some come from as far back as the Fourteenth Century, most famously ‘Meat Fruit’, the restaurant’s quasi- legendary headliner that quickly became one of the world’s most iconic dishes.
In essence a simple sphere of chicken liver parfait, in reality it’s multi-layered, nuanced and predicated on a mind-blowing amount of thought and work to make it perfectly resemble a mandarin. It is a dish which has helped cement Palmer-Watts’ reputation – and with it his own note in British culinary history that he champions.
My first encounter with the Michelin Guide was when I was working as a part-time pot washer at the age of 12 in Dorset at a restaurant called Le Petit Canard. The restaurant was awarded a red M which is now known as a Bib Gourmand rating, sitting just below one Michelin star.
The first time I got a star was during my time as sous and then head chef at The Fat Duck when Heston was awarded his second and third star respectively. More recently as Executive Head Chef of Dinner by Heston, we received our first star in the 2012 Guide and our second in 2013. I’ve been lucky enough throughout my career to date.
The first thing I did when I realised we had won a star was phone Heston and then I congratulated every single member of the whole team.
The influence the Michelin Guide has had on my life and career is massive, and brings with it a great sense of pride and achievement.
My advice for young chefs aiming for Michelin stars is to focus on their cooking and what happens at the table - the rest will follow.
