Chef Robert Thompson MBE - on a journey of happy re-invention

Robert Thompson MBE is one of the youngest chefs in the UK to receive a Michelin star and has helped put the Isle of Wight on the culinary map.

At ten, he became interested in food, designing his own restaurant/club as part of a school project and then followed his brother into the world of cooking. He has worked at several top restaurants, from Winteringham Fields to Cliveden, before establishing Thompson's on the Isle of Wight. He was one of the first chefs to work with us at Great British Chefs and cooked a memorable lamb carpaccio at our press launch event and a smoked eel puff in Old Street (London) the day we launched the website. During lockdown, he re-invented his business with a chef-designed food box called You Be Chef, which he continues to run. 

In his chat with Ollie Lloyd, he discusses the changing nature of food on the Isle and how people's expectations have changed due to various factors, such as Instagram, home cooking trends, supermarkets expanding ranges, and the cost of living crisis. Making things work in the hospitality sector is not easy, but Robert is committed to making it work. He is incentivising his team so that they are part owners of the business, is about to launch two new restaurants and remains dedicated to working with a growing list of local suppliers. 

Edited by Jasper Schofield