About Mark Kempson
Mark Kempson’s cooking is defined by his love of ingredients, and in particular a passion for wild food. He is an exceptionally talented classical chef, and his commitment to pure deliciousness and seasonality over trends or gimmicks is the driving force behind the perfectly balanced dishes that you will find on the menu at Kitchen W8.
Cooking with the seasons is the cornerstone of his approach; it is never something we pay lip service to at Kitchen W8. Mark has cultivated enduring relationships with suppliers – from fishermen, to farmers to foragers – to ensure that the best produce arrives at his kitchen door at precisely the right time.
This means that his menus reflect the subtle changes in how we want to eat as the year unfolds and Mark is constantly inspired to create dishes that reflect his love both of the British countryside and of classic French techniques. In particular, he is renowned as a brilliant game chef and has won multiple awards, both for his exceptional skills in cooking game and for his promotion of the purity of flavour and the minimal intervention nature of British wild food.
The exceptional quality of Mark’s cooking has been recognised by the Michelin Guide which has awarded Kitchen W8 with a Michelin star every year since 2011. He is also the current holder of the Game Chef of the Year Award.
About Mark Kempson
Mark Kempson’s cooking is defined by his love of ingredients, and in particular a passion for wild food. He is an exceptionally talented classical chef, and his commitment to pure deliciousness and seasonality over trends or gimmicks is the driving force behind the perfectly balanced dishes that you will find on the menu at Kitchen W8.
Cooking with the seasons is the cornerstone of his approach; it is never something we pay lip service to at Kitchen W8. Mark has cultivated enduring relationships with suppliers – from fishermen, to farmers to foragers – to ensure that the best produce arrives at his kitchen door at precisely the right time.
This means that his menus reflect the subtle changes in how we want to eat as the year unfolds and Mark is constantly inspired to create dishes that reflect his love both of the British countryside and of classic French techniques. In particular, he is renowned as a brilliant game chef and has won multiple awards, both for his exceptional skills in cooking game and for his promotion of the purity of flavour and the minimal intervention nature of British wild food.
The exceptional quality of Mark’s cooking has been recognised by the Michelin Guide which has awarded Kitchen W8 with a Michelin star every year since 2011. He is also the current holder of the Game Chef of the Year Award.
INSPIRATIONS
WHERE IT BEGAN
“I got a job collecting glasses in a country pub when I was a teenager. One day a chef was off and I was asked to help out in the kitchen. I loved it. The buzz of the service, the hectic environment, and the teamwork, triggered something in me and from then on all I wanted to do was cook.”
SERIOUS COOKING
“After school I went to catering college and worked evenings and weekends at Pennyhill Park Hotel. This was my first experience of high-end cooking and the use of exceptional ingredients. After graduating, I joined Pennyhill Park full time and then moved to the Vineyard at Stock Cross.”
MENTOR: PHIL HOWARD
“I met Phil when he visited The Vineyard as a guest chef. His rigour and respect for ingredients and flavour reflected everything I wanted to be as a chef. I joined Phil at the two-Michelin starred, The Square and really honed my skills. When it was time to move on, Phil made me head chef of Kitchen W8 in 2009.”
BRITISH COUNTRYSIDE
“I grew up in rural England, and it’s the landscape here that inspires me most. The ingredients we find on our doorstep are second to none, and produce with minimal intervention has the purest flavour – whether that’s beautifully reared meat from small farms, game, or wild foraged foods.”
The Wild Larder
When people talk about wild food, the first thing that comes to mind is often foraging. For a while in the early noughties, it became a culinary trend, with every menu featuring sea buckthorn or wild sorrel. But the ethos of wild food is much more than that; it’s rooted in old rural ways and forms a true part of the British culinary tradition.
From brambles and sloes to wild garlic and penny bun mushrooms, there is food growing wild across the countryside, free for the taking. There are trout and grayling to be caught in chalk streams, crabs to be gathered in pots, cod and turbot to be landed by trawlers, and, of course, game such as venison, hare, grouse, and partridge.
The one thing all these foods have in common is that there has been no intervention in their production. They are as natural as food comes, and with that comes a fantastic purity and intensity of flavour.
There is nothing Mark Kempson loves more than cooking with wild food. It’s a very important element of what we do at Kitchen W8. However, we don’t have an ‘only wild food’ policy that restricts what we can cook. It’s just that if food is delicious and it’s wild and in season we want to feature it on our menu.
You’ll find wild garlic in springtime, chanterelles and English truffles in summer and of course game in autumn and winter.
Because of this ethos Mark is recognised as one of Britain’s very best game chefs winning multiple awards for his innovative and modern approach to cooking this very traditional ingredient. If you haven’t tried Mark’s game cooking you’ve been missing out!
Accolades
Kitchen W8 was named Game restaurant of the year in 2021.
Kitchen W8 has held one Michelin star since 2011.
Mark Kempson was named Game Chef of the Year in 2024 and 2025.
