Guest Chef Demonstration with Will Bowlby
Le Cordon Bleu London were joined by Kricket Chef and Co-Founder Will Bowlby for a demonstration which showcased why he won Asian Chef of The Year at the 2017 Asian Curry Awards and has earnt a Bib Gourmand from The Michelin Guide in 2018.
Born in 1988, Will’s passion for food started when he was 10 years old after being inspired by Jamie Oliver. When he was just 16, he set up his own private catering company called will2cook which he kept going throughout school and beyond, and it helped him fund his year abroad after collage and most of his university education.
After university, Will worked in the kitchen at Le Cafe Anglais under the guidance of Rowley Leigh for two years. He gained experience in all aspects of the kitchen before he moved to Cheval in Mumbai as Head Chef for two years. Within a year the restaurant won 'Best New European Restaurant' in South Mumbai. Will also spent some time consulting on the menus at Khyber, the oldest and most established restaurant in Mumbai. He then travelled around Indian on a food tour for six months before returning to the UK in 2014. When Will returned to London he worked at the Cinnamon Kitchen under the guidance of Vivek Singh for eight months.
Will was inspired to set up his own Indian restaurant and in 2015 the opportunity arose. Joining forces with Rik Campbell, his best friend from university, together the pair opened Kricket at POP Brixton, a 20-cover restaurant set inside a shipping container.
Only a year into trading, the small, neighbourhood restaurant picked up a string of accolades, with chef Will Bowlby nominated for Chef of the year at the 2016 YBF’s and labeled as a ‘chef to watch’. The Brixton site - a firm favourite amongst celebrity chefs, including Pierre Koffmann and Michel Roux Jr - was nominated for the ‘Worth the Queue’ category in the Evening Standard restaurant awards. In 2017 the team closed their temporary Brixton location, and opened Kricket Soho, a two-level, intimate restaurant on Denman Street in 2017. This year has seen Will return to Brixton with a new permanent space – Kricket’s “Bar and test kitchen”, as well as the largest Kricket yet which has just opened at the iconic Television Centre in White City.
Will’s unique approach in marrying seasonal British ingredients with authentic Indian flavours continues to be revered within the industry. The accolades continue with Will most recently winning “Asian Chef of The Year”, at the 2017 Asian Curry Awards – where he was shortlisted against several top Indian chefs nationwide. Simultaneously, Kricket Soho won the “Best Newcomer” award, and has also received a Bib Gourmand 2018, from The Michelin Guide.
Spring 2018 saw Will launch his debut cookbook, Kricket: An Indian-inspired cookbook, published by Hardie Grant Books on 3rd May. With a steadfast eagerness to explore Indian food and flavours, Will returns to India as much as he can, bringing back his findings to the kitchen at Kricket.
Three restaurants in three years… Will is a chef on a mission to bring cutting edge cuisine inspired by the street food of Mumbai to London.
See our upcoming guest chef events like this on our culinary conferences and cooking demonstrations page.
