Tom Kitchin

Thomas William Kitchin[1] is a Scottish chef and owner of restaurant The Kitchin, where he became the youngest winner of a Michelin star. He had previously worked with several Michelin starred chefs including Alain Ducasse and Pierre Koffmann.

Tom Kitchin
Tom Kitchin, photographed in 2012
Born1977 (age 43–44)
Edinburgh, Scotland
Spouse(s)Michaela Berselius
Culinary career
Cooking styleFrench cuisine
Websitewww.thekitchin.com

Career

Born in Edinburgh, Kitchin attended Dollar Academy, a boarding school in Dollar, Clackmannanshire.[2] After leaving school, he studied catering at Perth College before beginning an apprenticeship at the Gleneagles Hotel, near Auchterarder, Perth and Kinross.[2][3] He has worked with Pierre Koffmann, Alain Ducasse, and Guy Savoy, all of whom have been awarded three Michelin stars.[4]

At the age of 29, he was awarded his first Michelin star, after The Kitchin had been in business for six months.[2] This made Kitchin the youngest Michelin star recipient in the world.[3] Albert Roux is reported to have said that Tom is the chef in Scotland most likely to win three Michelin stars.[2] His cooking style is to combine French techniques with seasonal Scottish ingredients, a style discussed in depth in his 2010 book From Nature to Plate.[5]

In July 2010, he opened his second restaurant, Castle Terrace, near Edinburgh Castle with chef Dominic Jack. Chef Dominic Jack owns and runs the restaurant as a sister restaurant to The Kitchin, using the same style and "nature to plate philosophy".[6] In 2010 he was voted Observer Food Monthly Cook of the Year.[5] In 2013, Kitchin and Jack opened Gastro-pub, The Scran & Scallie, in the Stockbridge area of the city.[7] A 4th Edinburgh venue, Southside Scran, opened in 2018. Despite its name, it is located in Bruntsfield rather than the city's Southside.[8] Kitchin opened his first venture outside of Edinburgh also in 2018, The Bonnie Badger, a pub in Gullane, East Lothian.[9]

In January 2020, it was found that three of Kitchin's venues were failed by hygiene inspectors in less than a year.[10][11]

Media appearances

He has appeared as a guest judge and mentor on MasterChef,[3][12] and has competed on the Great British Menu.[2] He hosted 2010 MasterChef winner Dhruv Baker for work experience at The Kitchin.[13]

In 2013 he appeared as one of the mentors in the series The Chef's Protege.

Personal life

Tom is married to Michaela Kitchin, who previously worked with the Savoy Group,[2] and designed the interior for Kitchin's second restaurant, Castle Terrace.[14] Tom and Michaela have four children.[15]

Since Christmas 2015, Tom has been a celebrity supporter of global international development charity, Mary's Meals, which has its headquarters in Scotland, by supporting its annual "One More For Christmas" campaign.[16] As part of this campaign Tom featured in a video[17] showing viewers how to make "The Most Amazing Christmas Dinner", where he demonstrates how to set a place at the virtual dinner table, which provides a year's worth of meals for a child, at a cost of just £12.20 ($19.50 / €14.50).[18] As of December 2016, Mary's Meals provides daily meals in school for 1,187,104 children[19] in 12 developing countries.[20]

References
  1. "Thomas William KITCHIN - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk.
  2. Devine, Cate (12 July 2010). "I'm ambitious, but I'm also very conscious that our fantastic life could change just like that". Herald Scotland.
  3. Coventry, Laura (2 March 2011). "Masterchef guru Tom Kitchin reveals the gritty reality of life behind the range". The Daily Record.
  4. Blythman, Joanna (12 August 2006). "Restaurant Review: The Kitchin, 78 Commercial Quay, Leith, Edinburgh". The Guardian.
  5. "Tom Kitchin Voted Observer Food Monthly's Cook of the Year". Orion Publishing Group. 18 October 2010.
  6. Paskin, Becky (14 May 2010). "Tom Kitchin to open second Edinburgh restaurant". Big Hospitality.
  7. "Tom Kitchin & Dominic Jack on Michelin stars, the rise of Edinburgh and running a 'gastropub'". bighospitality.co.uk.
  8. "Joanna Blythman reviews Southside Scran in Edinburgh". HeraldScotland.
  9. Murphy, Sean (11 December 2018). "Tom Kitchin announces opening date for new pub with rooms in Gullane". Scotsman Food and Drink.
  10. Glover, John (20 December 2019). "Celebrity chef Tom Kitchin hit by fourth food hygiene fail in nine months". dailyrecord.
  11. McNulty, Tim (23 January 2020). "Tom Kitchin's Edinburgh eaterie failed by hygiene inspectors on 18 counts". edinburghlive.
  12. Judges: Gregg Wallace, John Torode; Narrator: India Fisher; Director: Dave Crerar (8 April 2020). "MasterChef: Series 16 Episode 20 of 24". MasterChef. BBC. BBC One. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  13. Waters, Debra. "Minutes with Tom Kitchin". Delicious. Archived from the original on 23 August 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
  14. "Dream Kitchin as Michelin-starred chef serves up plans to rival Parisian scene". Fife Today. 12 July 2010.
  15. Gerrard, Neil. "Chef profile: Tom Kitchin". The Caterer. The Caterer. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  16. "Chef Tom Kitchin's ultimate Christmas dinner - Mary's Meals". Mary's Meals.
  17. Mary's Meals (13 December 2016). "The Most Amazing Christmas Dinner In The World with Tom Kitchin" – via YouTube.
  18. "Donate - Mary's Meals - Mary's Meals". Mary's Meals.
  19. "Who We Are - Mary's Meals". Mary's Meals.
  20. "Where We Work - Mary's Meals". Mary's Meals.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.