Ben Tish
In January 2022, Ben joined Cubitt House as Chef Director to oversee the menus of the group’s six existing sites and work on a series of new openings. The latest of which, The Princess Royal, will open in Notting Hill, West London, in April 2021. Ben’s menu will take inspiration from the diverse cooking styles of the Mediterranean with a focus on seasonality and the best of British produce.
Born in Skegness, it was in 1991 at catering college where Ben first found his love for cooking. During this time Jason Atherton opened a small hotel restaurant in the area and Ben started working there as part of his course. The pair became friends and, once Ben had finished his learning, he moved to London and took on a job at The Ritz where he would spend the next two years honing his classical cooking skills.
After working for the likes of Marcus Wareing and Steve Terry, it was at Al Duca in St James’s, London, where Ben got a taste for the Mediterranean. His first head chef role came in the West Highlands, in the Crinan Hotel in 2002, which was awarded Best Gastro Pub in Scotland by The Independent.
Back in London, a few chance shifts in the kitchen of a restaurant named Salt Yard would lead to Ben spending the next thirteen years as Chef Director and Partner, growing the business to five restaurants, all of which went on to receive 2 AA rosettes and Bib Gourmands from the Michelin Guide for their modern Spanish menus.
In 2019, it was time for Ben to open his own restaurant with wife Nykeeta. After a potential site in Soho fell through, the opportunity arose for Ben to take on the role of Culinary Director at The Stafford Hotel and, as part of the deal, Ben could open a standalone restaurant. In August 2019, Ben opened Norma, occupying a four story townhouse on Charlotte Street which took its influence from a Sicilian-Moorish cuisine. The restaurant merged high-end quality with a relaxed vibe and the result was hugely popular with reviews from the likes of Giles Coren (The Times) and Fay Maschler (then Evening Standard).
Ben is also an accomplished food writer having penned four cookbooks; Grill Smoke BBQ; Salt Yard: The Food & Wine of Spain and Italy; Moorish; and most recently, Sicilia: A Love Letter to the Food of Sicily
See Ben in action here
Website: www.saltyardgroup.co.uk
Twitter: @ben_tish
Instagram: @ben.tish
To book Ben, or to chat about collaborations or events, please call Martine on 07825 720018 or email on martine@saucemanagement.com