Joseph Otway

The Climb

Early in his career, Joseph Otway moved through a series of leadership posts that trace an increasingly focused path through food and hospitality. He served as director at DJR Hospitality Limited (from 2022), director at Cinder Wood Market Garden CIC (from 2020), and director at DJR Food and Beverage Limited (2020), before taking on director at DJR Food and Beverage Limited (2020) again. Today, Joseph is director of DJR Food and Beverage Limited (since 2021) and chef-patron, co-founder of Higher Ground. Those roles point to more than service on paper. They show a career spent shaping the conditions around the food as well as the food itself: the pace, the standards, the structure, and the room to work with a changing menu. Higher Ground sits at the centre of that approach, where Otway’s method is expressed through a format that leaves room for the kitchen to lead.

Today

At Higher Ground, the table is organised around a shared format that rewards attention rather than pre-selection. The food is thoughtful and experimental, but the service model keeps the experience grounded: guests meet each course as it arrives, and the meal builds through sequence rather than fixed expectation. That approach gives the kitchen a wider field of play. It allows Otway to work in a register where ideas carry as much weight as ingredients, while keeping the room focused on pleasure and clarity. The result is contemporary in shape, but it stays tied to the practical discipline of sending food well.

Signature

Joseph's signature dishes include Madrasty. In that context, the dish works as part of a larger way of cooking: one built around sharing, conversation, and the controlled reveal of what the kitchen sends next. A signature here is not separated from the room; it belongs to the same system of service and intent as the rest of the menu.

In Their Words “They trust us enough that they don’t need to know exactly which cut of meat they’ll get.” “It’s more about believing in the philosophy and knowing it’s going to be delicious.” Those lines describe the operating principle clearly. The trust is practical, not abstract: it is what makes the restaurant’s looser rhythm work, and what lets the kitchen send food with confidence while the guest accepts the meal as it unfolds.

Recognition

“A lot of it comes from the trust of our guests, which we’re very lucky to have.” That trust reaches all the way to the details on the plate. The experience depends on a shared understanding that the meal is being built in real time, with care, and with enough confidence to leave certainty behind.