Shaun Dickens

Shaun Dickens is chef-patron of Shaun Dickens at the Boathouse in Henley-on-Thames.

Career

Shaun trained at Westminster Kingsway College in London. Whilst at college, Shaun was chosen to be one of 6 students to appear in ITV's Yes Chef!^[1] His first position was at Raymond Blanc's 2 Michelin star Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, before moving to New York three years later to work for Thomas Keller at the 3 Michelin star Per Se . Whilst at Per Se, Shaun appeared in an article in Grub Street, New York Magazine's online food section, about social media.^[2]

Shaun returned to England two years later, and worked at L'Ortolan in Reading. Whilst there, in 2009, he came third in the Restaurant Association's Young Chef, Young Waiter competition,^[3] and in 2010 came third in the Craft Guild of Chefs Young National Chef of the Year.^[4]

In 2012 Shaun won The Caterer (formerly Caterer and Hotelkeeper) Magazine's Acorn Award,^[5] recognising 30 people under 30 nominated by their peers for making an impression in their field. Previous winners include Marco Pierre White, Marcus Wareing and Michael Caines.

In 2013, Shaun opened his own restaurant, Shaun Dickens at the Boathouse, on the banks of the River Thames. The restaurant was officially opened in April by Raymond Blanc.^[6] Within 8 months it was named as one of the Top 100 Restaurants in the Country 2013 by OpenTable/Toptable.^[7]

The restaurant was forced to close for three months after it was flooded in the winter floods of early 2014, but reopened again in April. Rather than being out of business for such a significant period of time, Shaun hired a local Mississippi paddle-steamer, The New Orleans, and continued working in a pop-up restaurant on the river itself. Quickly after opening, in May 2014, Shaun Dickens at the Boathouse won the Best of Britain Award for the best restaurant outside London in the 2014 Tatler Magazine Restaurant awards, receiving his award at The Savoy Hotel.^[8][9][10]

In November 2014, Shaun was also awarded best Gastronomic Restaurant in Oxfordshire, beating Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons to the title, and Best Restaurant in Oxfordshire at the Oxfordshire Restaurant Awards.^[11]

Shaun has also featured in articles in the Financial Times,^[12] The Express^[13] and The Independent.^[14]

References