Shaun Dickens

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Shaun Dickens
Born (1984-03-29) 29 March 1984 (age 40)
EducationWestminster Kingsway College
SpouseGemma Dickens
Culinary career
Cooking styleModern British
Award(s) won
    • Tatler Magazine – Best of Britain 2014
    • Oxfordshire Restaurant of the Year 2014
    • Toptable Top 100 Restaurants 2013
    • Acorn Award 2012
Websiteshaundickens.co.uk

Shaun Dickens is a chef who owns the Shaun Dickens at the Boathouse restaurant in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England.

Career[edit]

Dickens trained at Westminster Kingsway College in London, during which time he was one of six students to appear on ITV's Yes Chef![1]

His first position was at Raymond Blanc's two Michelin star restaurant Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons before he moved to New York to work for Thomas Keller at the three Michelin star Per Se. He returned to England two years later and worked at L'Ortolan in Reading, which also holds a Michelin star. During this time he came third in the Restaurant Association's Young Chef Young Waiter 2009 competition,[2] and the following year he came third in the Craft Guild of Chefs' Young National Chef of the Year competition.[3]

In 2012, Dickens won The Caterer's Acorn Award,[4] which recognises 30 people under the age of 30 who have made a significant impression in their field.

In April 2013, Shaun Dickens at the Boathouse was officially opened by Blanc.[5] Shortly afterwards, it was named as one of that year's top 100 restaurants in the country by OpenTable/Toptable.[6]

The restaurant was forced to close in February 2014 due to flooding from the nearby River Thames but reopened again in April. For these three months, Dickens operated from a pop-up restaurant on board the New Orleans, a paddle-steamer owned by neighbouring tour operator Hobbs of Henley.

In May 2014, Shaun Dickens at the Boathouse won the Best of Britain Award for the best restaurant outside London in that year's Tatler Magazine Restaurant awards.[7][8][9] Six months later, Dickens' venture was named both best gastronomic restaurant in the county and best restaurant at the Oxfordshire Restaurant Awards.[10]

Dickens has also featured in articles in the Financial Times,[11] The Daily Express[12] and The Independent.[13]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Reality TV Bites". Wiltshire Gazette and Herald. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  2. ^ "Young Chef Young Waiter". The Caterer. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  3. ^ "Young National Chef of the Year". Big Hospitality. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  4. ^ "Acorn Winner Shaun Dickens". The Caterer. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  5. ^ "Raymond Blanc opens Shaun Dickens at the Boathouse". Henley Standard. Archived from the original on 6 December 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  6. ^ "Opentable Top 100 Restaurant". OpenTable. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  7. ^ "Tatler". Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  8. ^ "Tatler". Tatler. 7 May 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  9. ^ "Tatler". Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  10. ^ "Oxfordshire Restaurant of the Year". The Henley Herald. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  11. ^ "Great River Journeys – The Thames". Financial Times. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  12. ^ "Things to do in Henley". Daily Express. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  13. ^ "Sea Containers". The Independent. Retrieved 22 November 2014.