1 Michelin Star Chefs: Taylor Bonnyman, chef patron, The Five Fields

Taylor Bonnyman is the chef patron of one Michelin-starred The Five Fields in London.

Taylor Bonnyman is the chef patron of The Five Fields in Chelsea, a four AA-Rosette restaurant which was awarded its first star in The Michelin Guide for Great Britain and Ireland 2017.

Career to date

Originally, Taylor did not want to be a chef. He cooked throughout his early teenage years and enjoyed it, though thought the lifestyle seemed brutal and was not what he wanted to do.

After studying history at university, he started a a job as an accountant, but the office environment made him miserable, so at 22, he decided to give cooking one last go.

Taylor worked in kitchens such as The Berkeley with Marcus Wareing and the two Michelin-starred Corton in Tribeca alongside Paul Liebrandt, before opening his own restaurant, The Five Fields.

He had never been a head chef before the opening, and in interviews, has said he is happy he did not know how much of a challenge it would be as this may have postponed his doing so.

He was backed by his family and wisely chose to surround himself with individuals from the local area, such as his head chef, Margeurite Keogh, who came from Marcus and Wareing at The Berkeley.

Opening The Five Fields

Taylor was only 27 when he opened The Five Fields and it did not have a concept, the chef just wanted to cook innovative British  within the context of London, capturing the influences of London’s broad cultural complexion while and outward-looking philosophy, what he sees as the spirit of the capital.

The atmosphere must be relaxed and offer great service. He was inspired by the chefs he had worked with in the past, and found that upon opening his own restaurant, he had plenty of ideas in his head, all of which belonged to other people. When the restaurant first opened, he began to emulate other styles, though began finding his own style over time.

Since opening, the food at The Five Fields has got much simpler, but also more sophisticated.

“You start with one ingredient and you dress it up. You also want to convey an outlook on how you perceive food and how you want people to perceive food," he explained.

The Five Fields tries to keep the menu extremely seasonal; they grow their own fruit and vegetables which the restaurant manager collects twice a week, as well as hundreds of herbs in their own plot of land in East Sussex.

The restaurant was awarded its first star in the Michelin Guide UK 2017.

The Garden

A notable feature of The Five Fields is its acre and a half garden that provides fresh fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers for the restaurant.

The garden also features an apiary of ten bee hives used for honey and a herd of fallow deer.

The garden ties into an attachment to seasonality and sustainability, helping to minimise food waste through a composting scheme, and food miles by its locality. 

Covid

In an interview with Shalina Tobin in 2020, Taylor spoke of the difficulties the restaurant encountered in the pandemic, which came when it reopened after the first lockdown: changes had to be made to the menu due to the time constraints and the lower staff numbers, and the pace was relentless after spending lockdown working on the garden.

Future Plans

Looking ahead, Taylor wants to focus his time on The Five Fields and get it up to the level he believes he can take it to.

Despite having plans to do something else, for now, he wants to ensure the restaurant is as good as it can get. 

Taylor likes to steer clear from social media and the online world. He feels as though putting everything on social media means you no longer have that spontaneity of the moment. “Obviously you want the door slightly ajar, but you don’t want to let the paparazzi in to photograph everything you’ve cooked,” he said.

Awards

AA Notable Wine List 2016-17 
Square Meal - Restaurant of the Year 2013
Sunday Times - Top 100 Restaurants in the UK

Videos by Taylor Bonnyman: