Sat Bains
Two Michelin-starred chef
Chef Patron, Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms
BBC’s Great British Menu
Author
Michelin Green Star
OVERVIEW
Sat Bains is the Chef Patron of the world-renowned, two Michelin-starred Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms in Nottingham, where he has been devotedly at the helm for 24 years. Sat’s exceptional cuisine champions Midlands produce and makes the most of cutting-edge culinary techniques.
Chef Career
Sat’s career in hospitality started when he passed his City and Guilds catering qualification at 17, a course he took only because the queue had the most girls! But Sat soon discovered a genuine love of cooking after being inspired by Michelin star chefs such as French chef Marco Pierre White. After moving to Oxford to help open Raymond Blanc’s Le Petit Blanc, Sat did a stint in London’s L’Escargot, before returning to the Midlands.
Sat’s craftsmanship was first formally recognised in 1999 when aged 28, he won the Roux Scholarship and secured a place in the kitchen of the Restaurant Le Jardin de Sens in the South of France, which then had three Michelin stars. When he returned to Nottingham, Sat became head chef at Hotel des Clos, which was later to become Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms.
Since taking ownership of his restaurant alongside his business partner and wife Amanda, they have created a world-class restaurant, offering unforgettable tasting menus with influences from French cuisine and the rest of the globe. Sat was awarded his first Michelin star in 2003 and the second in 2011, making it one of the top Michelin star restaurants in the UK and Sat one of the top chefs in the world.
View the Restaurant Sat Bains menu here.
TV Appearances
Sat’s unique approach to cookery first entered the spotlight in 2007, when he appeared on the acclaimed BBC show Great British Menu alongside other UK famous chefs. His recreation of a British classic, ham egg and peas, earned him a perfect ten score from all three judges, as well as a place at the final banquet.
More recently, Sat has appeared as a chef mentor on Masterchef: The Professionals and Masterchef Australia. Sat’s cool head and professionalism have also shone on the live cookery shows Saturday Kitchen and Saturday Morning with James Martin.
Cookbooks
Sat’s first book, Too Many Chiefs Only One Indian, was published in 2012 to great critical acclaim. This autobiographical cookbook won nine international awards, including Best Designed Cookbook at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. Following Restaurant Sat Bains’ tasting menu format, the book contains 68 in-depth recipes, demonstrating how research, development and creativity play a vital role in Sat’s modern cuisine.
Sat’s second cookbook, Eat to Your Heart’s Content, focuses on heart-friendly healthy cooking. As a Michelin star chef, Sat can’t sacrifice flavour – so he has developed a delicious variety of everyday meals that are nutritionally beneficial to heart health, and also taste fantastic. These accessible recipes use ingredients that can be bought from any supermarket, and are accompanied by advice and information from nutritionist Dr Neil Williams.
Sustainability
Social network and links
Sat’s WEBSITE
CONTACT US ABOUT sat
- +44 20 8846 0966
Chef, Michelin Starred Chef, restaurateur, Great British Menu, Author, Sustainability, sustainable, Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham chef, Northern, Award Winning, presenter, TV, luxury
Eliminating waste and preserving the environment is close to Sat’s heart, and his restaurant was awarded a Michelin Green Star in 2021, recognising gastronomy and sustainability. He has installed a closed-loop composting system at the restaurant, turning most food waste into compost for the garden, installed solar panels and introduced biodegradable plastic wrap into all his kitchens. Sat also works with the University of Nottingham on ecological projects involving food.
Other Projects
Sat was one of six authors credited in a research paper in association with the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery at the University of Nottingham. He was approached by surgeon Charles Maxwell Armstrong, asking if he could witness a service at Sat’s restaurant to see if there was a correlation between working in a two Michelin star kitchen and an operating theatre.
Aside from his cooking, Sat is passionate about nurturing the next generation of top chefs by having a very hands-on approach at his restaurant. Many of his restaurant’s protégés are now famous chefs with restaurants themselves, and several are UK Michelin star chefs.
Awards and Accolades
- Michelin Green Star – 2021
- Doctor of Laws, University of Nottingham – 2017
- Honorary Master of Arts Degree, University of Nottingham – 2012
- Doctor of Arts, Nottingham Trent University – 2015
- Second Michelin star for Restaurant Sat Bains – 2011
- Chef of the Year, Good Food Guide – 2011
- Honorary Hospitality Doctorate, University of Derby – 2010
- Chef’s Chef of the Year, Restaurant Magazine – 2009
- Great British Menu winner – 2007
- First Michelin star for Restaurant Sat Bains – 2003
- Roux Scholarship winner – 1999
