Former junior sous chef, Peter Gray was named head chef of Heston Blumenthal's gastropub in November 2017 when it was announced he would be taking over the helm of the kitchen following Janos Veres departure.
Peter Gray, originally from Yorkshire, began his career in the hospitality industry at the age of 16 working in the 2 AA rosette kitchen at the country house hotel, Middlethorpe Hall in York. Starting out as a kitchen porter Peter soon elevated himself up the ranks in the kitchen taking on the role of commis chef not long after joining before working his way up to become chef de partie.
Peter Gray
From here the young chef left Middlethorpe Hall to work for Michelin starred chef, Paul Kitching when he and his wife ran Juniper in Greater Manchester. At the time the restaurant was the only eatery in the North West to achieve 4 rosettes from the AA Restaurant Guide. It was also ranked in the Good Food Guide’s top 20 restaurants list and was named England’s Restaurant of the Year.
Aged 21, Peter moved from Juniper to work under Adam Simmonds at Danesfield House Hotel in Marlow which was later renamed Adam Simmonds at Danesfield House. Within the four years Peter was there he had worked his way up to become junior sous chef helping Adam the brigade achieve a star in the Michelin Guide and 4 rosettes from the AA Restaurant Guide.
After a three year stint working abroad, Peter returned to the UK where he joined Heston Blumenthal’s Hind Head in Bray as junior sous chef.
The Hind’s Head
In November 2017, 32 year-old Peter was promoted to head chef following the departure of Janos Veres who left the Michelin starred pub to move onto the next chapter in his career.
Duck and Guineafowl ‘En Croute’
In 2017 the pub underwent a complete refurb which saw the upstairs transform from a function room into a lounge bar with a hunting lodge theme featuring stained glass windows, taxidermy on the walls and Persian rugs. The new lounge also includes a new cocktail list along with a set menu.
Other changes also included ditching the a la carte menu in favour of three, four and six course menus which change on a monthly basis. Despite changes to the menu options the food style has remained the same, celebrating the very best in British cooking. Menu highlights include pea and ham soup with scotch egg and mustard mayonnaise; rib-eye of Hereford beef served with heritage Reform sauce and triple-cooked chips; and treacle tart with milk ice cream.
The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.
Over the last 16 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 560,000 followers across Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.
A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.
Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.
