Luke Thomas is a young chef with aspirations, talent and an opportunity to make a big name for himself as he launches Luke’s Dining Room, at Sanctum on the Green, near Marlow in Berkshire on 7 March 2012.
Food has always been Luke’s passion and since working at a local butchers aged 12, he has come a long way launching his first restaurant this year.
Luke Thomas won FutureChef 2009, coming top against 7,500 competitors aged just 15, and has gone on to work with some of the UK’s top chefs, including Heston Blumenthal, Gary Rhodes, Brian Turner and Simon Radley.
Born in North Wales, Luke balanced his school studies with weekend and evening jobs in the Michelin starred kitchens of the Chester Grosvenor Hotel & Spa, the acclaimed restaurant Soughton Hall, and alongside award-winning butcher Steve Vaughan. Setting his sights high, Luke went on to secure further experience under Bryn Williams atOdettes, and La Gavroche (2008), Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley, Gary Rhodes W1, La Pergola in Rome (2009), The Fat Duck (April 2010) and Jamie Oliver’s Barbecoa.
Luke has also worked in the kitchens of international three Michelin-starred restaurants such as Alinea in Chicago, the exclusive pop-up restaurant The French Laundry at Harrods in autumn 2011 and the two Michelin starred Vila Joya in Portugal. Further adding to his impressive CV, the young chef has cooked at some of the world’s most luxurious resorts, including Sandy Lane in Barbados and the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, as well as cooking for several members of the Royal Family.
Over the years the young prodigy has accumulated a number of prestigious awards to add to his FutureChef 2009 win, including Gold and Silver medals in the Welsh International Culinary Competitions for two consecutive years (2008 and 2009), and runner-up in the National Chef of Wales 2010. Luke is an ambassador of Springboard UK and has cooked at Grosvenor house, helping raise £148,000 for the charity.
Whilst cooking and learning from the best in the business, Luke has worked with the UK based Individual Restaurant Company who own brands such as Piccolino and Restaurant Bar and Grill. Luke worked along side a board of directors seeing the day to day operations of a hugely successful restaurant business and got his hands dirty in food development and FOH management. With Luke actively building all these skills, he is on track to be a hugely successful chef and restaurateur.
Luke has appeared on Market Kitchen (UKTV Food) and is regularly seen on BBC Wales and S4C through event coverage.
Luke has impressed the public with his passion for food. He has taken part in many cookery demonstrations; these include the Royal Welsh Show, Llangollen Food Festival, Conwy Feast, Liverpool Food Festival, the Welsh Food Festival and the Wirral Food Festival.
Luke has now launched Luke’s Dining Room, at Sanctum on the Green, making him England’s youngest head chef at just 19 years old.
