Updown Farmhouse to host impressive chef series

This winter, Ruth Leigh and Oli Brown of Updown Farmhouse will celebrate the return of their guest chef series, inviting some of the UK’s most celebrated and exciting chefs for a run of collaborative evenings at their restaurant with rooms in Deal, Kent.

Guests will be able to enjoy one-off dinners by Aaron Potter, Mark Kempson, Lee Tiernan, Ben Tonks, Margot Henderson, Adejoké Bakare, Josean Balotin, Albert Smith and Chris Leach, each who will bring their own distinctive cuisines and expertise to the table at Updown Farmhouse.

Who is cooking and when?

The series began on 25 October with Aaron Potter, chef owner of Wildflowers. On 21 November, Michelin-star chef Mark Kempson and restaurateur Rebecca Mascarenhas will take over. For 15 years, their Kensington neighbourhood restaurant Kitchen W8 has held a Michelin star.

Lee Tiernan of FKA Black Axe Mangal will take the reins on 16 January 2026, bringing his fire-fuelled flavours with him, while Ben Tonks of The Seahorse in Dartmouth will be on the pass on 6 February. 

In March, Margot Henderson, co-founder of Rochelle Canteen and The Three Horseshoes in Somerset, will bring her culinary expertise to Updown Farmhouse. The menu will reflect her traditional no-nonsense approach to cooking to create comforting dishes that utilise the best of local ingredients. 

Following her first visit to Updown Farmhouse in 2024, Adejoké Bakare (pictured) of Michelin-starred Chishuru makes a return to the kitchen on 26 April for an evening of West African cuisine. 

Josean Balotin, head chef of Tomos Parry’s popular Michelin-starred restaurant Mountain, will travel to Deal on 15 May. . 

For the final dinner, guests will be transported to late-night Bangkok, with the arrival of Smoking Goat’s head chef Albert Smith on 12 June. Smoking Goat, the Thai barbecue bar and restaurant, captures the bold and spicy flavours found across northern Thailand.

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