Neil Bentinck

The Climb

Neil Bentinck trained at Sun Inn at Colton, where the foundations of his career were laid before he moved into the rhythm of the trade as front of house at Bars and restaurants. That early experience of hospitality — reading a room, feeling the pace of service, understanding the quiet pressure behind a well-run dining room — seems to have informed the calm progression that followed. He then honed his craft as cook at Pipe and Glass, cook at Van Zellar, cook at Northcote, and cook at The Star Inn at Harome, moving through kitchens that demanded discipline, repetition, and attention to detail. From there, he went self-employed, a step that suggests both confidence and the willingness to take ownership of his own direction. Eventually, that trajectory brought him to Executive Chef at The Three Horseshoes in Batcombe, where the title reflects not only kitchen authority but the breadth of experience gathered along the way. Today, Neil is Chef Patron of Skosh (since 2016), where the years behind him in service and cooking find form in a present-tense role that is at once practical and personal.

Today

In 2016, he became chef-owner at Skosh in York, United Kingdom, and has served as Chef Patron there since that year. The role places him at the head of a restaurant carrying his own name, decisions, and standards, and it gives shape to the kind of chef he has become: one who has learned the trade from the ground up, then taken responsibility for its direction. His current role is Executive Chef at The Three Horseshoes in Batcombe, United Kingdom. The two posts connect Batcombe with the York business he has led since 2016, linking his present work to the longer story of a career built through movement, observation, and command of detail.

Signature

Neil's signature dishes include venison and trotter pie, lemon posset with pistachio cream and bergamot gel, hen's egg, with St Andrew's cheddar, and leek and black vinegar. Taken together, they suggest a cooking style that moves comfortably between richness and brightness, familiar comfort and sharper accents, with a sense of finish that feels deliberate rather than decorative.

In Their Words “It’s like chalk and cheese really!” “It was just normal for me, having those different flavours provoked the interest to learn more about them in a professional sense.”

Recognition

On the pull of flavour, he has said, "It was just normal for me, having those different flavours provoked the interest to learn more about them in a professional sense." As he put it, "I went travelling in Australia and that really opened my eyes and cemented what I wanted to do."