Aiden Byrne

Kirkby-born chef, Aiden Byrne first came to prominence when he was working at Adlard’s in Norwich, where at the age of 22 he became the youngest ever chef to win a Michelin star. He went on to work at other Michelin-starred restaurants, alongside knowledgeable chefs such as Paul Rankin and Tom Aikens, before fully establishing his own  identity as head chef at The Grill in the Dorchester Hotel.

He is now part owner of the Church Green Restaurant in Cheshire. Aiden says that he is passionate about
British ingredients, and has recently written a cookbook – Aiden Byrne: Made in Great Britain

My School
Ruffwood Comprehensive School, Kirkby, the school closed in 2009.

My Favourite Teacher
Mrs Dot Hurley (my catering teacher of course) she is now a lecturer at Roby College.

My Favourite Subject at School
Well the obvious answer has to be Catering, it goes without saying.

Were you streetwise or a bit of a geek?
Oh, I was a total geek at school.

My Favourite Childhood Singer/Band
I was a big fan of The Talking Heads and especially the lead singer David Byrne.

My Favourite Extra-Curricular Activity
Cooking (told you I was a geek), I spent all my time trying out different recipes.

Do you remember your first school crush?
My first school crush was on a girl called Gillian Carmichael (I wouldn’t know her now if I ran her over).

My Favourite Book
In school it had to be ‘Stig of the Dump’ and out of school is ‘Made in Great Britain’ of course (my book).

School Dinners
I wasn’t a great fan of school dinners, the less said about them the better!

My Ambitions at School
My ambition at school was not to be a geek but I failed miserably (once a geek always a geek I suppose).