Ben Tish has stepped down from his position as Culinary Director of The Stafford London and Norma.
Stuart Procter, Chief Operating Officer of The Stafford Collection comments: “I would like to thank Ben for his contribution to The Stafford Collection over recent years, and we wish him all the best for the future. The brilliant Giovann Attard, who has been at Norma since its launch in 2019, will continue to lead the kitchen as Executive Head Chef. At The Stafford London, Executive Chef Jozef Rogulski will continue to work alongside Lisa Goodwin-Allen to oversee the food offering at our flagship hotel, including The Game Bird restaurant and The American Bar.”
Ben opened “Norma” in 2019, a Sicilian-Moorish influenced restaurant on London’s Charlotte Street in a beautiful five storey Georgian townhouse.
The restaurant, which Ben opened with The Stafford, features award winning interior design by Rosendale, a bespoke raw bar serving Sicilian style crudo, and a first floor bar serving seasonal cocktails and a selection of Marsala served by the glass.
Norma has received critical acclaim from leading UK food critics, including Fay Maschler, Jay Rayner, Giles Coren, Tom Parker Bowles, and Grace Dent.
Ben is also an accomplished, award-winning food writer with five published cookbooks. Sicilia, Moorish, Grill Smoke BBQ, Salt Yard, The Food & Wine of Spain and Glorious Game.
Moorish was published in April 2019 receiving critical acclaim including being named “Cookbook of the Year by The Times Magazine.
Ben’s fourth book, SICILIA, was published June 2021.
Classically trained with over 20 years experience, Ben spent his formative career working with Michelin starred chefs such as Jason Atherton and Stephen Terry at various ground breaking London restaurants, learning classical techniques along with inspired culinary innovation.
He went on to head up his own operations at the Italian restaurant Al Duca in St James, London, and The Crinan Hotel in the West Highlands. Under Ben’s culinary leadership, The Crinan was awarded Best Gastro pub in Scotland by The Independent newspaper and Best Newcomer in the Good Food Guide for its’ fine dining restaurant, being hailed a seafood Mecca by foodies and journalists alike.
Prior to Norma and The Stafford, Ben was Chef Director and Partner for the Salt Yard Group, including Salt Yard (Fitzrovia), Dehesa (Soho), Opera Tavern (Covent Garden), Ember Yard (Soho), and Veneta (St James) - a group of 5 modern Spanish / Italian restaurants in Central London serving award-winning food (all 2 AA rosettes and bib gourmands from Michelin).
During his 11 years with the group, Ben drove the food offer, food operations, kitchen teams, and launches of 4 of the 5 restaurants in the group, where he established himself as cooking at the forefront of Spanish/Italian modern tapas scene.
Ben appears regularly on TV including Saturday Kitchen, Sunday Brunch, and Masterchef and writes for Delicious, The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Times, Noble Rot, Restaurant Magazine, Chef Magazine, and other publications.
Well respected and networked within the restaurant industry, Ben brings valuable hands-on expertise and connections to his consultancy projects.
