Despite growing up in a family that wasn't particularly food-focused, Ollie Dabbous developed an interest in cooking at a young age. ‘My family wasn’t particularly into food, although my grandmother was a good cook and we always ate quite healthily, but a love of it just developed inside me. So as soon as I was legally able to cook I started getting holiday jobs in kitchens.’

Eventually, Ollie would grow into one of the great chefs of the London landscape. His cooking is the perfect example of how minimalist presentation, deftness of touch and a mastery of technique can come together to create world-class plates of food. But the journey to where he’s gotten has taken a lot of graft, determination and grit.

Ollie’s first big break came when he landed a job as a commis at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons – a place renowned for producing excellent chefs. ‘I started at the bottom of the heap,’ he says. ‘I only had some pretty basic skills, but I made up for that in resilience, enthusiasm and a willingness to learn as much as I could as quickly as possible. I loved the lightness of touch and organic approach Raymond Blanc and Gary Jones had.’

Ollie spent two-and-a-half years at Le Manoir before moving to Hibiscus, where he worked under Claude Bosi for a year, followed by a stint at Mugaritz in San Sebastián, Spain.

Eventually, Ollie was drawn back to an opportunity in the UK. ‘I came to London to help open Texture with Agnar Sverrisson,’ says Ollie. ‘It was great because apart from Hibiscus, I’d worked in quite rural or remote restaurants, and as a 20-something being right in the middle of the action was exciting.’

Throughout his time at Hibiscus, Mugaritz and Texture, Ollie did as many stages as he could, experiencing the kitchens of The Fat Duck in Bray, wd~50 in New York, Pierre Gagnaire in Paris and even Umu for a day, just to get a better idea about Japanese food.

By 2011, Ollie was determined to open his own restaurant, which meant he had to leave Texture (‘I couldn’t do the hours there and make a plan for my own restaurant at the same time’). Being an unknown chef in a recession-hit economy meant he found it incredibly hard to find investment, and it took him almost two years before he could scrape together enough money to finally open Dabbous in 2012. ‘I was using pots and pans from my own house; we put some old tables and chairs in the dining room and then opened the doors,’ he recalls. ‘Cashflow was really tight and we were on the verge of bankruptcy before we even opened.’

Despite its difficult beginnings, Dabbous became an instant hit, with critics praising its inventive dishes, industrial décor and relaxed service. The restaurant earned a Michelin star just eight months after opening and quickly became one of London's most sought-after reservations.

Ollie went on to open Barnyard in 2014, a casual British restaurant on Charlotte Street in Fitzrovia, followed by Henrietta in 2017, a relaxed, French-inspired restaurant within Covent Garden's Henrietta Hotel. Barnyard and Dabbous closed in 2017 as Ollie prepared for a much larger project with Hedonism Wines owner Yevgeny Chichvarkin – Hide.

‘When I first saw Hide it was this big empty building the size of an aircraft hanger in the middle of Mayfair – I felt like I couldn’t not be involved.’

Ollie had already gained experience of building a restaurant from scratch during his time at Texture and with his own Dabbous, but Hide was a much larger beast. After opening the doors in 2018, Ollie and his team lived up to expectations, and Hide (along with its bar, Below) was a resounding success.

Hide earned a Michelin star just six months after opening, cementing Ollie’s reputation as one of the UK’s leading chefs. Building on the minimalist approach that defined Dabbous, he continued to refine his style, creating seemingly simple dishes underpinned by precise technique and a focus on exceptional ingredients.

In January 2025, after nearly seven years at Hide, Ollie stepped down as chef patron. Since then, he has worked on a series of culinary collaborations and guest residencies, including a stint at Kāio in London in September 2026, where he joined head chef Sachin Mistry to create a six-course tasting menu centred around seasonal ingredients and live-fire cooking.

Having made his name with two of London's most talked-about restaurants, Ollie continues to bring the same minimalist, ingredient-led approach to his cooking, with a focus on simplicity, precision and letting the ingredients speak for themselves.