When we think of prestigious restaurants in the UK, we often jump to the obvious. Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, the Roux brothers at The Waterside Inn and London institutions like The Dorchester, Le Gavroche and Claridge’s. But just outside Reading in a small village called Shinfield, there’s L’Ortolan – a Michelin-starred restaurant with it’s own prestigious lineage of chefs. Nico Ladenis, John Burton Race and Alan Murchison have all graced the kitchen at L’Ortolan, which leaves three sets of big shoes to fill for Tom. But does he feel the pressure of the restaurant’s history?
‘Yes, definitely!’ he says. ‘There’s so much history here, with John Burton Race, Nico and then Alan, and what they accomplished here. There’s a lot to live up to.’
As self-effacing as Tom seems in person, he certainly has the pedigree to take the reigns at L’Ortolan. His career as a chef started young – Tom’s grandparents owned a bakery in his hometown of Chelmsford, Essex, so he was very much surrounded by bread and food. ‘They worked closely with the community, so lots of shot game, rabbits and that sort of thing would come through,’ he explains. ‘They used to hang and skin them, so I saw all that quite early on.’
It wasn’t long before Tom was working at nearby Northfield Brasserie, where his education continued thick and fast. ‘They used to get whole animals in,’ he says, ‘so before I even finished school, I knew how to break down a whole lamb or a whole deer. I was very lucky in that sense to get such an early grounding. Northfield Brasserie doesn't exist anymore sadly, but it was a great start for me.’
