Bourdain and the Myth of the Kitchen Hero

Born in Nottingham, she began her career at The Savoy before joining Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s and spending five formative years at The Ledbury under Brett Graham. She later became Head Chef of The Harwood Arms, London’s only Michelin-starred pub, retaining its star and leading it to No.1 in the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs. Formerly of The Pem and most recently Head of Food at The Bull at Charlbury, in March 2026, Sally opened her first standalone restaurant, Teal by Sally Abé on Wilton Way in Hackney, where she continues to champion bold, nostalgic British cooking rooted in quality and sustainability. Her memoir, A Woman’s Place Is In The Kitchen, was shortlisted at the Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards.

He is the founder and director of Acme Fire Cult, the East London live-fire mecca that quickly became one of London’s hottest restaurant openings in 2022. Known for its open-air kitchen, bold vegetable-led menu, and a strong focus on sustainability, zero-waste practices, and innovative use of by-products. Andrew was previously chef-director at Brunswick House and St Leonards, working alongside Jackson Boxer. In 2016, he co-founded Pilot Light, a pioneering mental health campaign that helped open up honest conversation around wellbeing in the hospitality industry. Beyond the kitchen, Andrew is a creative consultant for food and lifestyle brands, and an active musician, tech House DJ, and shamanic practitioner – holding ceremonies and retreats, working with plant medicines and music to support healing and transformation.

In her ceaseless endeavour to smash the system, she contributes to various magazines and news weeklies, including In Style, Stylist, Glamour, Good Housekeeping, The Spectator and Grazia. Broadcasting includes Question Time, the Daily Politics, The Politics Show and Newsnight for the BBC; Dispatches and the Channel Four News for Channel Four; All Out Politics and Sunrise for Sky News; and appearances on the Today Programme, Any Questions, Woman’s Hour, PM and the World Tonight for BBC Radio Four. She is the author of three non-fiction books, Get it Together: Why We Deserve Better Politics, The Madness of Modern Parenting and Bring It On, Baby, contributor to three further books, The Alternative, Serendipity and All Together Now.

He has written on everything from crime and politics, through cinema and theatre to the visual arts, but is best known as restaurant critic, a job he did for the Observer from 1999 until 2025, and which he now continues for the Financial Times. As well as being Restaurant Critic of the Year, in 2023 and 2025 he was named Critic of the Year in the UK Press Awards. He has published four novels and eight works of non-fiction, the most recent of which is Nights Out At Home, his first cookbook, which was a Sunday Times bestseller. He chairs BBC Radio 4’s The Kitchen Cabinet, and is a regular on British television, where he is familiar as a judge on MasterChef. Jay regularly performs live, both in his one man shows and as the pianist in his jazz sextet.