For a restaurant to last over a decade in central London, it has to be doing something right. For it to hold onto a Michelin star for ten years, it has to be very special. Kitchen W8 in Kensington is just such a place, quietly producing seasonal, simple, approachable dishes in serene surroundings under the watchful eye of head chef Mark Kempson, who has been at the helm of the kitchen since it was opened by Phil Howard in 2009.

Mark’s first taste of kitchen life was at thirteen, when he got a job collecting glasses at his local restaurant. When a chef called in sick, he was asked to help out with the food side of things and became instantly hooked, going on to do a course at Basingstoke College of Technology once he’d finished school. ‘I had great lecturers who were just as passionate about food as the chefs I’ve met in the industry,’ he says. ‘The standard was really high, and while you learn so much more once you get into a kitchen they gave me a great understanding and grounding. About two years into the course I got a job at Pennyhill Park Hotel, originally on the banqueting side of things, at evenings and weekends. That was my first real insight into high-end cooking.’

Realising quite quickly that he wanted to be the best possible chef he could be, Mark worked incredibly hard to learn everything he could, eventually moving over to the hotel’s main restaurant, The Latymer, staying there for two years after he graduated. After that, he went to The Vineyard at Stockcross in 2004. ‘The setup was completely different – even though it was a hotel, everything was run from one kitchen and there was a team of about twenty chefs, which was really inspiring to be a part of. The style of cooking was a lot more modern, too, using the likes of water baths and agar agar and the odd molecular influence creeping in. There was some serious talent in the kitchen and I was really glad to be a part of it.’

Over the course of three years, Mark moved up the ranks at The Vineyard, from demi-chef to sous chef. After a four-day stage at The Fat Duck – a restaurant he’d had his heart set on – he realised the super-regimented, rarely changing menus weren’t for him, and it wasn’t until he met Phil Howard during a guest chef event at The Vineyard that he knew where he wanted to go next. ‘I really liked his food – it was so seasonal and full of flavour,’ says Mark. ‘I’d never thought about working in London before as the city never really appealed, but when I did a trial at [Phil’s restaurant] The Square and got offered a job, I couldn’t miss the opportunity.’

Mark’s first three months at The Square were tough. ‘I absolutely hated it,’ he says. ‘It was always so busy every single service and I felt like I’d walked into a bit of a madhouse, but then something clicked. I understood how the kitchen worked, the cooking style and what was expected. That’s when I really started to learn and enjoy myself. When I joined the team my CV was good – I could certainly cook – but for me The Square was like a finishing school, teaching you how to get the most out of every single ingredient.’