i. Biography
Ashley Palmer-Watts is co-founder of The Devonshire in London, a role he has held since 2023. The line through his work runs from The Fat Duck to Dinner by Heston Blumenthal and The Fat Duck Group, with historical British dishes, the best British produce, and the everyday discipline of service setting the terms of the kitchen.
The Climb
Starting in a local restaurant in Dorset, Ashley Palmer-Watts learned restaurant rhythm from the floor up before moving step by step to head chef at The Fat Duck. That progression points to a career built through repetition rather than shortcuts: technique first, then taste, then a working command of British ingredients and the traditions that frame them. In 2016, he became executive chef at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in London and Culinary Director at The Fat Duck Group, expanding the brief into a wider remit where precision and invention had to hold together. Today, Ashley is co-founder and chef of The Devonshire (since 2023), bringing that same measured approach into a new room.
Today
The Devonshire in London is the current stage for Ashley Palmer-Watts’s work, where experience from tightly watched kitchens informs the pace, finish, and character of the service.
Signature
Ashley’s signature dishes include Meat Fruit, Scallop with Bacon and Malt Vinegar, and Beef Chop. The set sits squarely in his register: British references handled with control, detail, and enough wit to keep the plates from reading as pastiche.
Recognition
Head chef at The Fat Duck in 2003, executive chef at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in 2016, and head chef at The Fat Duck Group mark the line of advancement through kitchens built on rigor and exacting standards. Those roles place Palmer-Watts in the center of modern British cooking at a polished, technical level. Meat Fruit remains the named signature from Dinner by Heston Blumenthal: cooked meat made to appear as a mandarin orange.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Ashley
What is Ashley Palmer-Watts's current role?
Ashley Palmer-Watts is Co-founder.
Where did Ashley Palmer-Watts work before?
Earlier in their career, Ashley Palmer-Watts worked at local restaurant, The Fat Duck, and Dinner by Heston Blumenthal.
What is Ashley Palmer-Watts known for?
Historical British dishes.
