Ashley palmer watts biography of michael

Ashley Palmer-Watts is at the helm of Heston Blumenthal’s Dinner by Heston Blumenthal which was recently awarded a second Michelin star in the Great Britain & Ireland Michelin Guide 2014.

Originally from Dorset, Ashley Palmer-Watts’ influences began with his love of the countryside and his knowledge of British seasonality and produce.

It was always going to be Ash. I simply wouldn’t have done this if it wasn’t for him.”

High praise, and well-earned. Palmer-Watts has been with Blumenthal since the early days, joining The Fat Duck in 1999 after eating there with a friend. With nothing to lose, Ian sent a picture of the sketch to Tom's wife Beth - a prolific sculptor with a large social media following.

When Palmer-Watts joined (right after the restaurant received its first Michelin star), there were a handful of cooks in the kitchen; today there are roughly 50. Unfortunately, in 2012, Ian suffered a mental breakdown and as a result lost his home.

After 10 turbulent years of homelessness, Ian inadvertently created a sketch which he reckoned resembled the Michelin starred chef, Tom Kerridge.

His goal, he says, is to create a modern, simple, produce-driven menu in a relaxed yet trendy environment.

to help develop a range of unique blends and characterful coffees, balanced with clarity of flavour, but accessible to many.

“We're really aiming at that really big market of people that love better things, better food, better wine, they make informed choices, but you don't have to be an expert to understand,” he added.

Recently Artisan Coffee has teamed up with an artist known as Autistic Ian, a partnership that felt symbiotic with Ashley and the brand.

At Dinner, which opened in late 2010, Palmer-Watts helped craft a historically-based menu with such dishes as the illusive Meat Fruit, in which cooked meat is made to appear as a mandarin orange. I think there's always going to be room for every type of the diversity we have here. There's some people out there that are talking some extraordinary food consistently unique as well,” he predicted.

When asked how important the guide is to the next generation of chef, and is it as relevant big following on Instagram, Ashley said: “I think that level of restaurant is not what everyone's trying to achieve.

They just want a great restaurant, and it might not achieve a Michelin star, and that's absolutely fine.

Beth shared the image with her followers and very quickly Beth's audience became Ian's audience.

Ian’s incredible artworks caught the eye of many with the artist commission to create artworks to for the walls of some of the best restaurants in the world including the likes of Core by Clare Smyth, and Claude Bosi at Bibendum.

“I really wanted to show this guy's talent because he thinks in a completely different way, which I think is everyone has their sort of superpower, and this is a prime example about creativity,” explained Ashley.

He added: "You just want to be part of that journey, bringing it back to helping someone back on their journey on their road.

He was made sous chef in 2001, head chef two years after that, and now serves as executive chef for The Fat Duck Group. The cooking in this country now, and it has been for a long time, has been at a proper world class level for a long time. Since 2008 he has been the executive head chef for the Fat Duck group and in 2011 took the helm of the kitchen at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in the Mandarin Oriental hotel in London’s Knightsbridge where, side by side with Heston Blumenthal, he curates and serves historic British inspired dishes.

Awards:

• 2 Michelin stars
• No.7 The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list

Dinner by Heston Blumenthal

Born in a small town in Dorsett, England, Chef Ashley Palmer-Watts began his culinary career like many others: working for a local restaurant at 13 years old.

It doesn't have to be everything put in a box. On leaving school he started to work full time in Le Petite Canard whilst studying and learning the fundamental disciplines of the kitchen, visiting producers and suppliers in his spare time.

Leaving home in 1999, Ashley joined Heston Blumenthal at the Fat Duck in Bray, which had been open for four years and just received its first Michelin star.

Many of the restaurant’s other dishes have their origins in the 13th to 18th centuries of British cuisine. There are a lot of people that that aren't striving to create that Michelin star level in Michelin's eyes.