Ollie Dabbous made his name as a chef patron with his first restaurant, Dabbous which was famed for its stripped-back fine dining and industrial decor. He then co-founded Hide restaurant in Piccadilly. Both restaurants held a Michelin star under his direction and Hide was awarded a coveted five stars in the Evening Standard and GQ restaurant of the year. Today, he remains one of the most exciting chefs in London, and he is one of the best British chefs in the country.
Of his cooking Ollie says: “The food I cook is entirely product-driven, taking the very best ingredients, questioning why we like them, and then highlighting those qualities in the most organic, restrained manner. It is food you can’t recreate at home, but it is also food that respects the integrity of the ingredient and the toil that goes into producing them… “.
In the past, Ollie worked at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons where he was offered the position of sous chef, and he also worked at Texture, Hibiscus, Mugaritz, Noma, L’Astrance, The Fat Duck, WD-50 and Pierre Gagnaire, before returning to London.
Ollie’s first book, Dabbous: The Cookbook, was published by Bloomsbury in 2014. It won Best Chef Cookbook in the 2015 World Gourmand Cookbook awards, thanks to its incredible design, stunning images and, of course, outstanding recipes. Ollie’s second book Essential was published by Bloomsbury in 2021. In this book, Ollie leaves advanced cheffy cookbooks behind, instead providing home cooks with 100 accessible everyday recipes.
In 2019, chef Ollie Dabbous appeared as a Chef Mentor on BBC1’s MasterChef: The Professionals, where the semi-finalists were sent to learn from Ollie and his team at his Hide restaurant. This position is reserved both for top chefs and celebrity chefs UK viewers will recognise. Ollie is also a regular guest on the British TV show Saturday Kitchen, where he cooks for and with other TV stars.
Outside of his own kitchen, Ollie has collaborated with Burberry, Rolls Royce, Sotheby’s, Converse, Dunhill, Mandarin Oriental, Qatari Diar and Vertu, among others. He has consulted both for the Experimental Cocktail Group at Henrietta Hotel in Covent Garden, and for Garsington Opera, located in the Getty family estate in Buckinghamshire. He has cooked at Ascot and at bespoke events for Krug, Nyetimber and Devialet. He has been asked to talk about achieving excellence for growing tech companies and professional sporting teams.
Image credit to Joakim Blockstrom
Ollie is a mentor for Restaurant Associations bringing his ingredient-focused, minimalist cooking philosophy to their various sites, developing menus and inspiring their chefs.
Ollie has also taken over the creative food direction at Mad Swans, a new countryside destination in the Mendip Hills, blending golf and social sports (padel, pickleball). The site combines eco-friendly stays, and relaxed dining with Ollie’s Michelin-starred touch. Mad Swans aims to modernize the golf experience with a 12-hole course and social-focused amenities.
Ollie's Website
