St. John Restaurant.
The son of two architects - father a keen diner, mother a keen cook, Fergus originally studied architecture before his thoughts turned to cooking.
Occasional stints at The Globe in Notting Hill under his belt, Fergus along with his wife Margot took over the dining room at The French House pub in Soho where they quickly earned a loyal following and critical praise.
Fergus was introduced to Trevor Gulliver over supper and, having found the abandoned smoke house on the edge of the city district, and along with the French House Dining Room's manager - Jon Spiteri, the trio opened St. John.
Critical acclaim for Fergus's brand of simple, pared down cooking set in an architecturally though simple setting followed and St. John has won more that its fair share of awards and high rankings in national and international listings.
Fergus is now a published chef: Nose to Tail Eating - A Kind of British Cooking, first published in 1999 and re-published both in the UK and the U.S. (as The Whole Beast) garnered much acclaim and won the Andre Simon award for food writing.
A follow up book, Beyond Nose to Tail Eating was published in 2007, co-written with our head baker Justin Piers Gellatly.
Fergus continues to develop projects all in the name of Nose to Tail Eating, the basic principle which best sums up Fergus's approach to food and the spirit with which one should approach not only cooking but the dining experience as a whole.
Fergus Henderson was born in London, 1963. He attended King Alfred’s School and went on to train as an architect. It was during this period that he started cooking seriously. Whilst studying at the Architectural Association, he took a job at Smiths Restaurant, in Covent Garden and thus began his career as a chef.
Kitchens:
2003 – The opening of St John offspring; St John Bread & Wine.
2001 – Fergus and Trevor set up HGW wines.
1994 – The opening of St John, with Jon Spiteri and Trevor Gulliver.
1990 – French House Dining Room, with Margot Henderson and Jon Spiteri.
1988 - The Globe in Notting Hill.
1987 – Smith’s Restaurant in Covent Garden.
1986 – 17 Mercer Street in Covent Garden.
Books:
2007 – “Nose to Tail Eating & Beyond” published by Bloomsbury.
2006 – “How I learnt to cook” published by Bloomsbury.
2004 – “The Whole Beast” a re-published version of “Nose to Tail Eating” in America.
2004 – “Nose to Tail Eating – A Kind of British Cooking” re-published by Bloomsbury in the UK with a new introduction by Antony Bourdain, in line with St John’s 10th Anniversary.
2004 – “Don’t try this at Home” published by Bloomsbury.
1999 – “Nose to Tail Eating – A Kind of British Cooking”, published by McMillan.
Awards:
2005 - Fergus received an MBE.
1999 - Andre Simon Award.
St John Restaurant awards:
2007 – Restaurant Magazine “The World’s Top 50 Restaurants”
2007 – Restaurant Magazine, Front of House Team of the Year
2006 – Time Out, Best British Restaurant
2005 – Restaurant Magazine “The World’s Top 50 Restaurants”.
2004 – Restaurant Magazine “The World’s Top 50 Restaurants”.
2003 – Restaurant Magazine “The World’s Top 50 Restaurants”.
2001 – ITV Moet & Chandon London Restaurant Awards, Restaurant of the Year
2001 – ITV Moet & Chandon London Restaurant Awards, British Restaurant of the Year
2001 – Time Out Eating and Drinking Awards, Fergus Henderson – Outstanding Achievement of the Year
2000 – Carlton TV London Restaurant Awards, British Restaurant of the Year
1998 – Hotel and Restaurant Magazine/British Meat Board Awards, Meat Restaurant of the Year
1997 – Carlton TV London Restaurant Awards, Best Modern British Restaurant
1996 Evening Standard Eros Award
St John Bread & Wine awards:
2006 – Observer Cheap eats.
2005 – Observer Newspaper Food Awards, runner-up, Best Sunday Lunch
2004 – Upside Magazine Restaurant Awards, Best for Lunch
2004 – ITV Tio Pepe London Restaurant Awards, British Restaurant of the Year
