i. Biography
Michael Yates works as Executive Chef at NoMad London, a role held since 2023. The appointment sits inside a longer pattern of professional kitchen movement: an early start at 16, then work across Langho, Lancashire, in the Ribble Valley; Blackburn; Edinburgh; the Netherlands; Hamilton Island; Antwerp; and the capital. The useful detail for the trade is not the mileage, but the repeated exposure to kitchens where produce, timing and restraint carry the plate. Produce-led cooking is the through-line here. Across Lancashire, Scotland, the Netherlands, Australia and Belgium, the work gathered around seasonality, precision and editing. By the time Yates reached the restaurant, the method was already established: translate place into food without overloading the dish. “My cooking style is timeless – it’s minimal, eclectic, and locally focused, all of which resonate with the NoMad brand and team.” Michael has said.
Formation
Professional range came early through an international sequence of kitchens. Michael Yates began close to home at Local Italian restaurant, then worked at Northcote in Blackburn. Restaurant Martin Wishart in Edinburgh added another demanding kitchen environment, and Oud Sluis in Netherlands placed him inside a restaurant identified here by its three Michelin stars. The progression widened discipline, palate and perspective without turning the cooking away from control. Island and market cooking added another register. Qualia in Hamilton Island, Australia, brought a different setting for produce and climate. In Antwerp, co-ownership at Sail and Anchor in Antwerp (2016–2023) placed Yates in a small, focused format built around a daily-changing tasting menu. That kind of service leaves little cover: the menu has to answer to the market, the season and the cook’s ability to stop before the plate becomes crowded. Scale changed in the UK capital, but the working values remained legible. As Executive Chef of NoMad London since 2023, Yates brought that ingredient-first, edited approach into a larger hotel dining room.
The Work Today
The kitchen has, since 2023, been led around local and regional bounty from farms, fields and coasts. In Michael Yates’s hands, the menu carries forward the produce-led thinking associated with his years in Antwerp, now applied in a metropolitan context: cosmopolitan room, locally directed sourcing, seasonal pressure on the dish. The first menu launched on 26 April 2023. Its stated language was minimal, eclectic and locally focused, with Yates describing his cooking style as “timeless” and aligned with the NoMad brand and team. The emphasis is on selection and editing: ingredients chosen for timing, texture and clarity rather than excess. The ingredient examples given for this work — fresh morels, Shetland Scallops and English asparagus — show the operating field: earth, salinity and green-season produce. The cooking is presented through that immediacy, with generosity built through sourcing and restraint rather than ornament.
Signature
The NoMad London Sunday Roast and the First NoMad London menu are the named signatures associated with Michael Yates. One works from a familiar service ritual; the other marked the opening statement of his London cooking on 26 April 2023. Both point to the same trade priorities: sourcing, clarity and control of the plate.
Peer Recognition
Recognition in this profile is carried less by trophies than by kitchen calibre and role progression. Oud Sluis, identified here by its three Michelin stars, placed execution at that level inside Michael Yates’s formation. Sail and Anchor then translated that standard into a small, daily-changing tasting-menu format from 2016 to 2023. NoMad London extends the same ingredient-first method onto a larger London stage.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Michael
What is Michael Yates's current position?
Michael Yates is Executive Chef.
Where did Michael Yates work before?
Earlier in their career, Michael Yates worked at Local Italian restaurant, Northcote, and Restaurant Martin Wishart.
What is Michael Yates known for?
Ingredient-focused tasting menus that change daily based on local produce.
