Chef Shaun Rankin has spent nearly two decades refining the art of British fine dining. Now back on home soil at Grantley Hall – and with a new cookbook capturing the journey – he reflects on memory, mastery and the Yorkshire terroir that shapes every dish on his Michelin starred menu.

"Nature should always dictate the menu." Restaurant Isca Executive Chef Jack Hazell joins The Knife to discuss cooking with the equinoxes, why British produce deserves centre stage, the challenge of letting nature lead the menu, and how ingredients growing just outside the kitchen are shaping one of Sussex's most exciting new restaurant openings.

Pine’s Cal Byerley discusses cooking from the Northumberland landscape, rediscovering his creativity, finding inspiration in overlooked ingredients and why sustainability’s restrictions make the restaurant’s food more ambitious – not less.

“We’re a pub that happens to serve exceptional food.” Joe Walker has swapped fine dining and Europe’s fastest-growing food business for Britain’s high streets. In this conversation with The Knife, the new Executive Chef at Herts Pubs Company explains why nostalgia belongs on modern menus, why consistency matters more than ever, and how pubs can once again become the beating heart of their communities.

From carving Herdwick sheep out of slate as a schoolboy to cooking them for kings, Ryan Blackburn’s story is inseparable from Cumbria itself. At the Old Stamp House and The Schelly, his menus are shaped by farmers, coastlines and centuries of food heritage. This is a chef letting ingredients – and the land they come from – do the talking

Fresh from a major Cateys win, The Loch & the Tyne in Old Windsor is having a moment. Adam Handling’s countryside gastropub blends zero-waste thinking, serious cooking and laid-back hospitality. Proof that the future of British dining might just live in the pub.

For Ryan Cole, success isn’t trophies or rankings, it’s a full restaurant, a growing team and ingredients treated with respect. From catching his own fish to reshaping the meaning of a historic Cape Town landmark, the Executive Chef of Salsify is redefining what modern fine dining can stand for. In this conversation with The Knife, Cole reflects on seasonality, simplicity, inclusivity and why true confidence in cooking is knowing what to leave off the plate.

At Laugarás Lagoon on Iceland’s Golden Circle, Gísli Matt opens Ylja – a hyper-local, geothermal-powered restaurant rooted in warmth, community and the wild character of Laugarás. From greenhouse-grown tomatoes to arctic char that shifts with the seasons, Gísli unveils a new chapter for Icelandic dining where nature, flavour and place become one.

Two decades after starting out as a commis, Paul Green has returned to The Three Chimneys, now as Head Chef. Drawing on years under mentors like Martin Wishart and Michael Smith, he’s crafting dishes that honour Skye’s legendary shellfish, sustainable sourcing and simplicity over showmanship. This is a story of coming home, and of a restaurant deeply rooted in place.

At Hiraeth in Cardiff, chefs Lewis Dwyer and Andy Aston are building something heartfelt – part Japanese precision, part Welsh soul. From late-night menu ideas to home-grown produce and a vibe that’s pure Cardiff, the duo talk roots, rituals and redefining what modern Welsh dining looks like today in this exclusive interview with The Knife.

At Gravetye Manor, Roux Scholar Martin Carabott transforms seasonal British produce into fine dining poetry. From garden beets with Oscietra caviar to deer cooked over juniper, his cooking celebrates balance, precision, and flavour born of time and place. The Knife sits down with the Gravetye chef redefining what it means to cook in season.

Michelin starred Lumiere is Cheltenham’s worst-kept secret in the best possible way: a tiny dining room with huge intent, powered by a 3.5-acre garden, beehives and a four-day week. Co-owners Helen & Jon Howe talk to The Knife about ankle-break recovery, why honey madeleines tell a bigger story, mentoring tomorrow’s chefs – and how a Tequila Slammer became fine dining’s most joyful palate cleanser.

Joe Stark is redefining the drinks programme at Wild Shropshire with low-intervention wines, foraged ingredients, and zero-waste house ferments. From English fruit wines to award-winning alcohol-free pairings, he tells The Knife why the best drinks don’t mimic – they tell their own story.

At Dinings SW3, Executive Chef Masaki Sugisaki is rethinking the way we eat fish. In this exclusive interview with The Knife, he shares the story behind his Gill to Tail series, explains why he spends time on boats with fishermen, and how serving just 12 diners a time can help create a wider movement in sustainable seafood.

At Edinbane Lodge on Skye, Calum Montgomery does more than cook – he forges stories from scallops, mutton, and sea air. In this exclusive interview for The Knife, the Chef of the Year shares how local legends, late-night lobster allocations and a “hot minger” shaped his culinary path. This is modern Scottish fine dining, rooted in heritage and fuelled by Skye’s wildest ingredients.

What happens when a Michelin starred chef ditches ego, shortens the working week, and serves nothing but seasonal tasting menus in a 400-year-old pub? You get Ancient Shepherds – Mark Poynton’s radical new restaurant outside Cambridge. In this exclusive from The Knife, the newly crowned Norfolk Chef of the Year talks sustainability, mentorship, and the bold future of British hospitality.

Michelin Green Star chef Mark McHugo isn’t just cooking with the seasons, he’s rewriting the rules of sustainable dining. From dock seed bread and fig leaf sorbet to gin-infused with wild meadowsweet, Chapters in Hay-on-Wye is as inventive as it is rooted in the land. In this exclusive conversation, he shares his kitchen philosophy, foraging favourites, and what’s next for one of Britain’s greenest restaurants.

From smoked cod doughnuts to vodka-infused whey, Dean Parker’s menu at Celentano’s in Glasgow is a masterclass in zero-waste, big-flavour cooking. As the restaurant celebrates its fourth birthday, we speak to the chef-patron about fermentation, foraging, Italian roots, and why breakfast might just be his favourite dish of all.

No menu, no imports, no ego – just a chef, a regenerative farm, and a deep obsession with how a county truly tastes. At Wild Shropshire, James Sherwin is pioneering “ultra-terroir” dining with local eggs, garlic from down the lane, and vinegars that rival citrus. The Knife sat down with the Michelin Green star chef to talk ferments, flavour memory, and why pineapple weed might just be the new mango.

From Michelin stars to forest feasts, Luke Holder is cooking with purpose. In this bold and thoughtful interview, the HH&Co chef reveals why fire is the future, why provenance matters more than perfection, and why the best chefs today need to lead with both instinct and integrity.