Richard Bertinet
Richard was born in Brittany in north-west France, and trained as a baker from the age of 14. After a position as Operations Director with the Novelli Group of restaurants Richard set up the Dough Co.
Richard was named the BBC Food Champion of the Year 2010. In 2012, Richard and Jo Bertinet founded The Bertinet Bakery with the aim to produce artisan bread for as wide an audience as possible. He has published several books, including the book that every food loving family should own - 'Crumb – Show The Dough Who’s Boss!'.
“All it takes to make bread is flour water and salt. To make great bread, add a little Bertinet.” Pierre Koffman
Ping Coombes
Born in Ipoh and now based in Bath, UK, Ping has never lost her love for Malaysian food; in fact, living away from Malaysia has only compounded it. Since moving to the UK in 2004, Coombes has been busy cooking Malaysian food and sharpening her skills.
In 2014, she joined the MasterChef UK competition and emerged victorious. She would go on to also win MasterChef Champion of Champions in 2022.
Mark Hix
Celebrated chef, restaurateur and food writer Mark Hix is known for his original take on British gastronomy Mark is frequently lauded as one of Britain’s most eminent restaurateurs with an unrivalled knowledge of ingredients with provenance. He is an award-winning author and food writer with 12 cookbooks to his name, the latest of which, Hooked, regales stories of fishing from his childhood through to the present day. Previously a regular contributor to City AM and GQ, Mark was previously the food writer for The Independent on Saturday for 14 years. He now has a regular column in The Telegraph, Dorset Magazine and Marshwood Vale and a weekly cookery show on Lyme Bay Radio.
After 17 years with Caprice Holdings, he left his Chef Director role in 2007 to open HIX Restaurants which spread across London’s West-end and City as well as his native Dorset, until they closed in 2020 as a result of Covid-19 Mark opened The Oyster & Fish House in Lyme Regis in July 2020 as well as launching his HIX Oyster & Fish Truck in Morcombelake, selling wet fish and seafood from Lyme Bay Reserve fishermen during lock downs. He opened The Fox Inn pub in Corscombe in December 2020 but sadly due to the continuing challenges in the industry the pub closed on 17th July 2022. Mark received an MBE for his services to hospitality in the New Years’ Honours list 2017. Listen to Mark’s cookery show on Lyme Bay Radio and read his weekly recipe column in The Telegraph. He also writes for Marshwood Vale and Dorset Magazine every month.
James Golding
James originally trained at The Savoy Hotel. Within 3 years he had a firm grasp of classical French cooking and was offered the position as Chef de Partie at Le Caprice working under Mark Hix and later Elliot Ketley. James originally trained at The Savoy Hotel. Within 3 years he had a firm grasp of classical French cooking and was offered the position as Chef de Partie at Le Caprice working under Mark Hix and later Elliot Ketley.
Over 7 years his love for British seasonal produce developed as he traded truffles, foie gras and caviar for elvers, lamb’s kidneys, Dorset cockles and snipe. In 2001 he moved to seafood restaurant J Sheekeys helping to restore it to its former glory before a stint as Head Chef of the 6thfloor restaurant at Soho House New York. It was his experiences in America that finely tempered his modern British style of cuisine. James is a fellow of the Royal Academy of the Culinary Arts.
Ols Halas
The on-site restaurant, Circus Sauce, is run by head chef Ols Halas. Ols ran away with Giffords in 2013, after various Cotswold restaurants and a stint in the Alps. Ols supplements working for the circus with travelling during the winter months between each Circus Tour. Every day at Giffords, he and his team serve dinner
to guests in a vaudevillian circus tent. The menu changes weekly, inspired by the local produce, and the restaurant is visited by celebrities and repeat customers all through the circus tour.
Dhruv Baker
After winning MasterChef in 2010 Dhruv pursued his dream of a career in food, firstly by working in some of the UK’s finest restaurants including Le Gavroche, The Kitchin and Helene Darroze at the Connaught.
Dhruv has also presented on Waitrose TV and is a regular contributor for numerous publications and a brand consultant. Dhruv published his first book Spice in 2014 and in the same year opened his gastro pub The Opened Jolly Gardeners.
Chris Cleghorn
Chris Cleghorn is the Executive Head Chef of The Olive Tree Restaurant in Bath. The restaurant is at the heart of the fiercely independent Queensberry Hotel, a multi-award-winning beautiful boutique hotel proposition.
A Michelin star was awarded to Chris Cleghorn in October 2018, after many years of hard work, creativity, dedication and faith - Having retained a Michelin star for 4 consecutive years, which it remains Bath’s only Michelin Star.. For what Michelin described as “Refined, creative cooking using colours, textures and flavours to full effect”
This distinction is in addition to the restaurant’s 3 AA Rosette status. The award and retention of the star is testament not just to his skills and creativity, but to the hard work, tenacity and leadership he’s shown in the kitchen, and his commitment to The Queensberry Hotel, over the course of ten years.
Garry & Dan Rosser
Garry Rosser is chef/owner at the award-winning Scallop Shell fish and chip restaurant and seafood grill here in Bath, which he opened in 2015 with his wife Lisa and son Dan. He has over 20 years’ experience working as a chef for Fishworks, is a qualified fishmonger and trainer at the KFE School of Frying Excellence.
Dan Rosser learnt the family trade from his parents and went on to hone his skills at some of the world’s hottest new restaurant openings, in London and Singapore, before returning to Bath to open their Oyster Shell takeaway in 2019. He worked as head chef at The Scallop Shell and can now be found behind the stoves at Noah’s, a beautiful fish & chip restaurant and seafood kitchen on the harbourside in Bristol, which he opened with wife Joie in May this year.
Andrew Lowkes & Rob Sachdev
Landrace is a bakery shop, [upstairs] restaurant and (soon-to-be) flour mill specialising in sourdough bread from stoneground & UK grown grains.
Before opening Landrace, Andrew worked at Pump Street Chocolate and Neal’s Yard Dairy - where he met his now business partner Tom Calver of Westcombe Dairy. Since opening in the spring of 2019 Landrace has built a unique regional network of farmers, growers and primary producers of which Westcombe is at the core. As well as exceptional quality pork, cheese, charcuterie Westcombe has grown up to 10 acres of speciality milling wheat every harvest since Landrace’s opening. This regional grain partnership forms the basis of the bakery’s next project Landrace Milling, having recently acquired a 40” natural granite mill.
After a monumental COVID pivot, Landrace opened its Upstairs restaurant in September 2021 with husband and wife team Head Chef Rob and General Manager Jules at the helm. Together they bring a wealth of hospitality experience from London; Quality Chop House, Brawn, Portland and Jolene among them.
In Andrew and Rob’s spare time they enjoy pina coladas and getting caught in the rain.
Richard Knighting & Marty Grant
Richard Knighting & Marty Grant are co-owners of Corkage.
In late 2015 Corkage started life as a pop up restaurant on Walcot Street, and then Corkage Chapel Row opened in 2017, just off Queen's Square in central Bath. Richard trained in London for a number of years working for starred chefs, and then headed to Bath to cook in 2006. Marty travelled the world honing his wine knowledge and arrived in Bath the same year.
Corkage is all about innovative small plates of great local produce, simply cooked. This is accompanied by an extensive, handpicked wine list, all served up in a convivial atmosphere. The restaurant now boasts a lovely heated & covered terrace and Georgian courtyard garden.
Fang-Yu Lin
Fang-Yu Lin is the owner and head chef of Sugarcane Studio, an award-winning Bath patisserie specialising in fusing East Asian flavours with fine French desserts. Opening in 2020 on Grove Street, just around the corner from the picturesque Pulteney Bridge, Sugarcane Studio has won multiple awards for their macarons, confectionary and pastry, and was named best café in Bath at the 2022 Bath Life Awards.
Fang-Yu Lin originally trained at Le Cordon Bleu in London in 2011, and subsequently worked at several hotels and bakeries in the capital before returning to her native Taiwan, contining her career at Si Zhi Tang restaurant. She returned to the UK in 2017, beginning her own patisserie business, trading at farmers markets and fair around the West, and took the opportunity to open the patisserie/café during the first lockdown. Sugarcane Studio has become known locally for their unique flavours and quality products, as well as representing a part of Taiwanese culture in Bath.
Noya Pawlyn
Vietnamese-born Noya Pawlyn is Head Chef and owner of Noya's Kitchen, one of Bath’s best-loved restaurants. Voted one of the UK’s Top 5 Independent Restaurants in 2021, and judged Best Restaurant in the 2022 Bath Life Awards,
Noya’s ethos is simple, to deliver exceptional home-cooked Vietnamese food. After fleeing Vietnam as a refugee, aged 7, Noya reconnected to her roots via the cuisine her family left behind. She now hosts her weekly Supper Clubs and a la carte dining in her beautiful, Georgian townhouse restaurant in central Bath.
Giuseppe Dell’Anno
Giuseppe Dell'Anno was the winner of the 12th series of the Great British Bake Off and became the first Italian to win the competition.
Originally from Italy, Giuseppe now lives in Bristol with his wife and their three young (and noisy!) sons. His love for baking comes from his father, a professional chef who did all the cooking at home as Giuseppe was growing up, including making a cake every Sunday. Inspired by this Italian heritage, Giuseppe loves using Italian flavours in his bakes, while he also brings his engineer’s precision to the results. A self-confessed food snob, he is determined to feed his children homemade confectionary, rather than anything that’s been mass-produced. When he’s not baking, Giuseppe loves indulging his passion for design and architecture, and with his wife has renovated their family home. He also loves gardening.
Dan Moon
Dan Moon, the visionary behind Yuzu by Dan Moon, is a celebrated Private Chef renowned for his dazzling, award-winning culinary creations that tantalise both the palate and the senses. Amid the challenges of the pandemic in 2021, Dan established Yuzu, introducing gourmet at-home dining experiences—a cherished indulgence for couples and families unable to frequent their beloved restaurants.
With the gradual easing of Covid restrictions, Dan expanded Yuzu's repertoire to include interactive and immersive dinner parties, designed for cherished gatherings with friends and loved ones in the comfort of one's own home. Building upon the triumph of these Yuzu dinner soirées, Dan now takes pride in joining forces with local businesses in Bath, enhancing the dining journey by curating complete gastronomic pop-up experiences in cherished venues throughout the city.