When Heston was 16 years old and dined with his family in a three-star restaurant in Provence he fell in love with cooking and the idea of being a chef. For four years he conducted an experimental education and apart from three unpaid weeks in a couple of professional kitchens, he is entirely self-taught.

During his research Heston read ‘On Food and Cooking’ by Harold McGee which questioned the basic notion that searing meat seals it, if this were untrue despite being presented as fact in countless cookbooks then how many other ‘rules’ of the kitchen could be broken? This encouraged Heston's natural curiosity, showing him the benefits of taking nothing for granted and using his renowned scientific approach to cooking.

In 1995 Heston bought a 450-year-old pub in Bray, The Fat Duck.  He transformed an impossibly cramped space with minimal culinary facilities into a gourmet kitchen and in a few years he had earned his first Michelin star. In 2000 the restaurant was refurbished and two years later with the freedom to explore and create Heston gained his second Michelin star, and two years after that a third.

Heston continued to explore the interests that have become a central part of his approach to cooking: multisensory perception and how the brain influences our appreciation of food, harmoniously stimulating all of the senses during the eating experience, orchestrating a succession of bursts of flavour in a dish or using smell to generate emotion.

Recently Heston has become deeply interested in the history of British gastronomy, which is the ethos behind Dinner by Heston Blumenthal at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park.

Ashley has worked with Heston Blumenthal since 1999 when he joined him at the Michelin starred Fat Duck in Bray. His artistic eye and enthusiasm for research has allowed him to work side by side with Heston to create the historic British and multisensory dishes served at the Fat Duck. In 2011 Ashley brings this invaluable experience to Dinner by Heston Blumenthal at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park where he is Executive Chef.

Originally from Dorset, Ashley’s influences began with his love of the countryside and his knowledge of British seasonality and produce. An after school job at the age of fourteen washing up in a local restaurant ignited a passion for cooking. His first full time restaurant position was in Le Petite Canard where he studied the fundamental disciplines of the kitchen before joining Heston at the Fat Duck.