Nik Hill

Kitchen discipline in Nik Hill’s early career was built across distinctive rooms: chef at The Ledbury in London, chef at Sepia in Sydney, Australia, chef at The Old Fitzroy in Sydney, Australia, and chef at Bathers Pavilion. The current work is concentrated at Porcine, where Hill is chef-owner (since 2021), alongside the separate production of Smoketrap Eels.

Tableside canard à la presse keeps an older service grammar in active use: pre-order only, presented with every trimming, and described as a dish of deep sophistication and elegance. In a dining culture often driven by novelty, the value of the dish is practical as much as cultural; it depends on ceremony, timing and precision. Smoketrap Eels, associated with Hill and dating to 2020, is a parallel craft line rather than a menu flourish.

The work centres on cured, hot-smoked longfin eel made under that name. The eel method is defined by sequence and restraint: the eels are purged, brined in salt, treacle and water, dried, then gently hot-smoked over hickory for 10 hours. The ethic around the product is also explicit. “We’ve got a sustainable product here. We don’t want to waste a thing.”

Signature dishes include Rich pork creton and lentils, Pre-order canard à la presse, and Duck ballotine.

Recognition for Nik Hill includes Chef of the Year (2025) and Golden Knife (2025).