Portrait of Marcin Ciesielski
i. Biography
Marcin Ciesielski holds Head Chef posts at Dehesa in London and Urban Pubs and Bars in the United Kingdom (2023–2026), work that puts Spanish and Italian tapas at the center of a kitchen defined by restraint, seasonality, and proportion. The menu language is deliberately plainspoken: dishes are kept simple, but not casual, with each change tied to the pace of the season rather than to passing effects.
Coming Up
The progression through Ibérica Restaurants shows a career built by repetition, return, and refinement rather than abrupt reinvention. In 2018–2018, Marcin Ciesielski served as Head Chef at Ibérica Restaurants, then moved in 2019–2019 into the Senior Sous Chef role there before returning in 2019–2020 as Head Chef at Ibérica Restaurants once again. That sequence established familiarity with the group’s kitchen language and a working discipline shaped by consistency. From there, the same line of work continued at CASTILLA SOHO LIMITED in 2021–2022, where Marcin Ciesielski held the Head Chef role and carried forward the same emphasis on precision and control. In 2023–2026, he took on Head Chef duties at Urban Pubs and Bars in the United Kingdom, before bringing that accumulated experience to Dehesa. Across those moves, the pattern is one of measured advancement: kitchens chosen for their demand for exactness, and a style sharpened by repetition, seasonal judgment, and economy of gesture.
Where They Are Now
At Dehesa, the tapas format gives Marcin Ciesielski room to work with directness. As Head Chef, he shapes Spanish and Italian dishes so they read cleanly on the plate and in service, avoiding excess in favor of clarity. The cooking stays close to the brief: immediate, unforced, and attentive to what the ingredients ask for. That approach keeps the menu in motion without pushing it into complexity for its own sake. Seasonal changes do the structural work, while the small-plate format supports pace, sharing, and variety. The result is a kitchen style built on control rather than display, with each dish doing only what it needs to do.
Career - Chef, Dehesa, London - Head Chef, Ibérica Restaurants (2018) - Senior Sous Chef, Ibérica Restaurants (2019) - Head Chef, Ibérica Restaurants (2019–2020) - Head Chef, CASTILLA SOHO LIMITED (2021–2022) - Head Chef, Urban Pubs and Bars, United Kingdom (2023–2026)
Honors
No awards are cited for Ciesielski.
FAQ What is Marcin Ciesielski's current role? Marcin Ciesielski is Head Chef. Where did Marcin Ciesielski work before? Marcin Ciesielski's earlier career included Ibérica Restaurants, Ibérica Restaurants, and Ibérica Restaurants. What is Marcin Ciesielski known for? Spanish and Italian tapas.
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