Tom Aikens
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| Born | 1970 Norwich, England |
|---|---|
| Cooking style | French cuisine |
| Restaurants | Tom Aikens (Chelsea) Tom's Kitchen (Chelsea) |
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Tom Aikens (born 1970) is an English chef.
Aikens was born in Norwich in 1970 into a family of wine merchants. He worked Mirabelle in Eastbourne and Cavaliers in Battersea, London, as a commis chef.
He moved to London’s Capital hotel under Michelin-starred head chef Phillip Britten and was working as chef de partie at Pierre Koffmann’s La Tante Claire in London when the restaurant won its third Michelin star before becoming sous chef at Pied à Terre in 1993.
Aikens left London to work under Joel Robuchon in Paris and Gerard Boyer in Reims before returning to Pied à Terre in 1996, where he held onto the two Michelin stars earned by his predecessor, Richard Neat. In doing so, he became the youngest British chef to be awarded two Michelin stars.
Aikens was sacked by Pied à Terre in 1999 for allegedly "branding" 19-year-old trainee chef with a hot knife. He then spent a year as head chef at La Tante Claire before opening Tom Aikens in April 2003 in partnership with his then wife, Laura Vanninen, who handled front of house. The restaurant won a Michelin star in January 2004 and three stars in the Egon Ronay’s revived restaurant guide for 2005. In 2005, it was named in Restaurant's Top 50.
In November 2004, he caused a stir by accusing a customer of stealing a silver coffee spoon from his restaurant. Following the incident, he told The Times he did not wish to discuss it, but did complain that theft at the restaurant was rife.
In August 2006, a sous-chef at Tom Aikens was stabbed in the buttock, prompting a health and safety inquiry. The resultant report concluded that the sous-chef had slipped on a wet floor "into another chef who was holding a knife", and the restaurant was warned to "thoroughly dry off the floor" after washing.
Aiken's second restaurant, Tom's Kitchen, opened September 2006.
