Tom Kitchin at The Donovan Bar

Chef Tom Kitchin discusses the emotional experience of dining, living by his ‘From Nature to Plate’ values, and his Chef Residency at The Donovan Bar in Mayfair, London.

In his words, Tom Kitchin is ‘fanatical about freshness’. Renowned for his ‘From Nature to Plate’ approach, a concept he has made into an art form, the Edinburgh-born chef is happiest when seeing guests connect with his seasonal cooking. Within six months of opening in 2006, Tom’s first restaurant, The Kitchin, won a Michelin star and in 2015 became Scotland’s only restaurant to hold five AA Rosettes. The Leith-based restaurant has held both awards every year since, alongside a remarkable collection of accolades.

Tom ‘truly lived and breathed’ his restaurant’s opening philosophy since day one: ‘I work only with the best, freshest, most seasonal and local produce there is and have very close relationships with my suppliers, of which many work solely for our restaurant.’ An inherently sustainable approach to cooking, ‘it’s about respecting the produce and taking guests on an exciting journey of trying new flavours or new interpretations of flavours.’

Today a well-known face on television and a celebrated restaurateur with an honorary doctorate for his contribution to Scottish food culture, Tom was just thirteen when he discovered his vocation: ‘My summer job in the local pub is where I properly fell in love with cooking. The chef would receive the game birds in feathers and I loved watching the process. I enjoyed the camaraderie of the kitchen and the teamwork required to get it all to work, and I knew from that age that I didn’t want to do anything else but be a chef. I got such a buzz from it all and had a real hunger for learning the trade.’

Still enjoying that ‘buzz’, Tom shares that one of his biggest lessons after more than thirty hands-on years in the restaurant world is that ‘food is a really powerful thing which brings people together’. With natural humility, Tom is driven by a genuine desire to be inclusive with his craft: ‘A real foodie can come from any background, united by that strong love and deep passion for food. We always wanted our restaurants to reflect that.’

After training in some of Europe’s leading kitchens, Tom’s Scottish heritage remains central to his identity as a chef: ‘I love taking guests on a journey through Scotland. Food truly brings emotions out in people. It can be eating something you loved as a child or a feeling based on a memory or a moment. I always want people to try new things and push their comfort zones a little when it comes to food.’

Tom’s ‘From Nature to Plate’ principles are something he truly lives by: ‘I always let nature and the seasons guide me in my cooking and I work hard to always extract flavour in my dishes without over-complicating things. Authenticity, natural flavours, and the amount of work which goes into the cooking process itself, define my food and my style of cooking.’

For many chefs, the arrival of a new season is a time of renewed inspiration, and Tom looks forward to the fresh palette of ingredients at his fingertips: ‘Spring is one of the most exciting times of the cooking calendar year, when produce comes into season with every new day. Highlights for me are definitely the first broad beans, wild herbs, spring lamb, and everything that spring brings... It's a magic time for cooking.’

“Food should be happiness.”

This spring, alongside a seasonal menu by Brown’s Hotel’s Chef Director Adam Byatt, guests at The Donovan Bar can pair their drinks with a selection of Tom’s small plates: ‘Being a proud Scotsman, I am obviously excited about bringing a little bit of Scotland to London and the beautiful Donovan Bar. It’s always about showcasing the very best produce which we are so lucky to have on our doorstep.’

Tom has previously collaborated with Adam Byatt on a ‘six-hands dinner’ in Sicily alongside Chef Fulvio Pierangelini, Creative Director of Food at Rocco Forte Hotels. Tom and Adam also appeared together on the BBC’s Saturday Kitchen. Sharing a reverence for seasonality and simplicity, Tom agrees the two chefs complement each other’s approaches to cooking:

‘I have a great respect for Adam, he’s a chef I’ve admired since we first met. Adam and I come from a similar school where we’re both French trained and passionate about British produce. We also share a great interest in helping the next generation of chefs through support and training opportunities. It’s crucial that recipes and cooking techniques live on.’

As he looks forward to his chef residency at the fabled Mayfair bar, Tom shares that his cocktail of choice is ‘an Old Fashioned to pair up with the Oysters. I would probably use something like a Highland Park whisky for the Old Fashioned to go with the Whisky Oysters. It would be a great combination!’

Alongside honouring the simplicity of local ingredients executed to their highest expression, Tom’s culinary outlook is simple: ‘Food should be happiness, and I feel privileged to strive to deliver exactly that to our guests.’

Enjoy Tom Kitchin’s ‘From Nature to Plate’ dishes at The Donovan Bar from Monday 24th February to Sunday 25th May, 2025 as part of our Chef Residency series.