1 Michelin Star Chefs: Shaun Rankin, chef patron, Shaun Rankin at Grantley Hall

Shaun Rankin is the chef patron of Shaun Rankin at Grantley Hall in Ripon, yorkshire.

A veteran of Britain's fine dining elite, Shaun spent two decades of his career working in Jersey before returning to London, where he first trained, and finally to back to North Yorkshire, where he was born.

biography

Born in Ferryhill in County Durham, the chef took a catering course in Berkshire at the Thames Valley University in Slough before moving to London to work at the May Fair Hotel.

After two years, he returned to Yorkshire to work as a chef de partie at the Black Bull Inn in Moulton, before travelling the globe to hone his craft, from Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago and Fraser’s in Western Australia. 

Upon his return to the UK, he was offered a position at the Relais & Chateaux Hotel Longueville Manor in Jersey. He spent eight years working between Longueville and its sister restaurant, Sumas, before leaving to open Bohemia. 

Three years later, in 2005, the restaurant was awarded a Michelin star.

Another eight years passed and the chef finally left to open his own restaurant, Ormer, which received a Michelin star within four months, followed by three AA Rosettes.

Alongside Ormer Jersey, the chef struck a partnership with London boutique hotel, Flemings Mayfair, opening another Ormer restaurant there in 2016.

He stepped away from the Jersey restaurant in 2017 and became the chef patron at his eponymous restaurant at Grantley Hall in 2019.

Shaun Rankin at Grantley Hall

The luxury hotel’s fine dining restaurant, Shaun Rankin at Grantley Hall launched in 2019, receiving a Michelin star in the 2021 guide. 

Set in one of the original public rooms in the Grade II* listed Hall, the building dons many of its original features. including cornicework and sash windows, offering views over the hotel's formal gardens.

The 38-cover restaurant, with an adjacent six-seater Chef's Table, showcases local produce cooked in season, supplemented with elements from the hotel's own kitchen garden, greenhouse, bee hives and fruit trees.

Shaun draws on his love for sustainably sourced, hyperseasonal produce as well as inspiration from his childhood to create his dishes.

The Michelin Guide singles out the following specialities from the menu: Scallop, sea buckthorn and lovage; venison loin, celeriac and blackcurrant; and Shaun Rankin's treacle tart.

Awards, accolades, books and Tv Appearances

The chef appeared on the fourth series of Great British Menu in 2009, taking his dessert of treacle tart with raspberry ripple clotted cream ice cream to the final banquet. 

In 2010, he released a cookbook, Rankin’s Seasoned Islands, featuring simple recipes showcasing the Channel Islands' best produce.

As well as making multiple appearances on Saturday Kitchen, Shaun featured in the 2017 series of MasterChef, when a group of contestants worked a service at Ormer Mayfair.

Shaun Rankin at Grantley Hall received the Restaurant of the Year Newcomer title in the 2020 Food & Travel Readers Awards.