Kuba Winkowski leaves The Feathered Nest Inn, plans his own venture

National Chef of the Year Kuba Winkowski is stepping down from his position as head chef of The Feathered Nest Inn in the Cotswolds after nine years. 

In an interview with The Staff Canteen, the chef explained that he had been mulling the idea for 'some time,' and that the change of ownership following the previous owners' - Tony and Amanda Timmer - retirement only precipitated his decision to move on. 

The chef said that the new owner and CEO of Nested Hospitality, Adam Taylor "quite rightly has a different vision for the business to make it fully financially viable - it's a big venue with big costs so he needs to be more corporate events, more weddings, big events which we never did, and I as a chef am not really interested in those things." 

"It was a natural end, as this was not what I trained to do," he added. 

He insisted that he has "no hard feelings to anybody," and said: "life is life, I wish Adam all the best and I'm sure The Feathered Nest will continue to be an amazing place."

Next step: KuBarn 

In an immediate future, the chef plans on 'chilling out,' having had an 'extremely busy schedule' for the past year since he was named National Chef of the Year by the Craft Guild of Chefs. 

Eventually, he would like to open his own restaurant in the Oxfordshire area, based on his "KuBarn" concept and development kitchen, applying ancient techniques to modern cooking, using local ingredients from suppliers he knows and trusts, preparing "stripped down small plates."

He said: "At the end of the day, I'm 39 - I've spent almost ten years at The Feathered Nest, fifteen in the UK, so the concept of what I want it to be, revolving around charcuterie, the thought process started a few years already - I'm not sure I'm going to have a better opportunity or a better time to try." 

"It is a bit scary - it's unknown territory - but I want to try."

The chef will spend the next few months  trying to find a venue, and in the meantime, he will be available for short-term work, open to the idea of working alongside other chefs and hosting his own pop-ups and supperclubs.