Jason Atherton

Jason Atherton is a chef and restaurateur whose work is shaped by discipline, repetition, and range across multiple sites and cities. He has said, “I was born a chef [and] I’ll die a chef.” His current flagship is built around Modern British gastronomy, with a 15-course tasting menu divided into three acts across three venues and structured around the peak seasons of British produce. The format is designed to give the meal movement rather than present it as a procession of isolated plates. His professional formation began at Boston College, Lincolnshire and the Army Catering Corps, before he moved into an international kitchen register as Executive Chef at Verre in Dubai. He then spent several years as Executive Chef at Maze, where his work became a multi-site exercise in replication, launch pressure, and brand extension. During that period, he oversaw launches at Maze in Hilton Prague Old Town, Maze Grill in Grosvenor Square, Maze in One and Only Hotel, Cape Town, and Maze restaurants in Melbourne and Qatar. From 2010, restaurant-making became central to his practice. He began as restaurateur at Table No. 1 in Waterhouse at South Bund hotel, Shanghai, then took on a long home-base chapter as chef-patron and restaurateur at Pollen Street Social in Mayfair. Over the same period, his portfolio widened through Esquina in Chinatown, Singapore, The Study in Singapore, and 22 Ships in Hong Kong. The pattern was not one kitchen repeated unchanged, but a body of work built across cities, formats, and service cultures. Expansion continued with a Mayfair offshoot, a dining room in Soho, a Shanghai site, Ham & Sherry in Hong Kong, Berners Tavern in London EDITION hotel, a Tower 42 opening, and an Aberdeen Street address in Hong Kong. His work also reached television through a screen role as co-host at My Kitchen Rules. Later additions to the portfolio included The Clocktower in New York EDITION hotel, a Marylebone wine-and-tapas room, Marina Social in Intercontinental Dubai Marina hotel, The Pig and Palm in Cebu, Temple and Sons, and Duddell's London in St Thomas Church. Television remained part of the record through guest judge at MasterChef Australia, host at The Chef's Brigade, and host at Jason Atherton's Dubai Dishes. He is founder of The Social Company. His career also includes his current flagship, Row on 5, and a forthcoming opening at Maria's, Principessa hotel, Forte dei Marmi, Tuscany. Recognition has followed both his restaurant work and his wider operating role, including Two MICHELIN Stars for Row on 5, One Michelin Star for Pollen Street Social, Best Chef of the Middle East, Restaurant of the Year - UK for Pollen Street Social, Restaurateur of the Year, and Chef of the Year.