Tom Kemble joins Chalk restaurant as executive chef

Tom Kemble has joined the team as executive chef at Chalk restaurant and the Wiston Estate, bringing more than 15 years of experience at some of the world’s best restaurants to the West Sussex estate. 

Formerly head chef at Bonhams Restaurant, Kemble brings his precise cooking style and ingredient-led approach to Chalk. Sussex-based Kemble’s wider career encompasses roles at Hedone, Tom Kemble at The Pass and globally renowned Swedish restaurant Fäviken. He will now be working alongside chalk head chef Bradley Adams, who has been a part of the kitchen team since 2021. 

Located on the Wiston Estate’s North Farm winery site, the 122-cover restaurant Chalk opened in December 2021. The venue draws its name from the soft white limestone that the vineyard sits on, which gives its award-winning wines their distinctive, terroir-driven profile. 

The menu celebrates the nature and heritage of the estate, using ingredients from the its allotment-styled walled garden. Meats such as venison, Herdwick lamb, pheasant and White Park beef are all sourced on site, while the likes of heritage pumpkin, beetroot, dazzling blue kale and Hinnonmaki gooseberry are grown in the walled garden.

Image: Jo Hunt

Highlights from the current a la carte menu include: ‘La Latteria’ burrata with estate pumpkin, sage pesto and radicchio; venison carpaccio with walnuts, Twineham Grange and mixed leaves; Herdwick rack of lamb and belly, wild garlic, hay-smoked pomme purée; and Jerusalem artichoke soup, hazelnut praline and Olde Sussex rarebit.

The Chalk wine list consists of many wines produced on the estate, and plenty from further afield. Other list highlights include Restless River Ave Maria Chardonnay, from Hemel-en-Aarde, South Africa; Bengula Cove ‘Lighthouse’ Syrah, from Walker Bay, South Africa, along with wines from its Sussex sister estates Leonardslee and Mannings Heath, which are processed at Wiston Estate winery.

Occupying a renovated 18th century threshing barn, Chalk has been thoughtfully restored. An alfresco courtyard will 60 covers in the simmer, while a private dining room hosts 10 all year round. 

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