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Simon Rogan

Simon Rogan is a British chef who focuses on seasonal British produce and has impeccable restaurants around the UK. He is perhaps most well known for his lengthy tasting menus.

Birthday: 01 January 1967

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In 2022, Simon Rogan's restaurant L'Enclume earned its third Michelin star, making it the first ever restaurant in the north of England to do so. 

Rogan is an experienced chef with a host of nature-inspired restaurants that focus on seasonal produce. Rogan’s interest in food started with his father who worked at a wholesale fruit and veg market, often coming home with boxes of exotic produce. Although at first, he was suspicious of the ingredients, Rogan accredits this for his love of seasonal produce. Already interested in cooking, at the age of 14 Rogan got a job at a local Greek restaurant in Southampton, although this was not a concerted move to become a chef at this point - a career in football was very much on the cards with trials for Chelsea and a training contract with Fulham as real possibilities. However, Rogan realised that these were unlikely and pursued catering college where he was driven by competitiveness to be better than the chefs he was surrounded by, all of whom were more experienced. 

At 17, Rogan got an apprenticeship at Rhinefield House Hotel working under a chef who had previously been at The Savoy, and here was taught classical skills. Though unpaid, Rogan fell in love with his time here and became passionate about foraging, spending time off foraging for mushrooms and herbs in forests and hedgerows. After this he became a pastry chef at Geddes Restaurant in Southampton and here, working under Jean Christophe Novelli for eight years, he realised the life that could be achieved as a chef - travelling the world and working with interesting people. During this time, he worked stints at other restaurants under chefs such as Marco Pierre White. 

This led to him working at the three-starred Lucas Carton in Paris in the 1990s for two years and following this, his first head chef role at Adlington Place in Croydon. In 2002 Rogan, and his partner Penny Tapsell opened their first restaurant in Cartmel, Cumbria, L’Enclume. His first Michelin star came in 2005, his second coming in 2013. The 2015 Good Food Guide gave him a 10/10 rating describing the food of his 21-course tasting menu as ‘miracles of nature’. Now with multiple restaurants across London, the UK and Hong Kong, Rogan keeps his focus on the enthusiasm for ingredients that he learnt from his time as a child as well as his appreciation for foraging and natural ingredients. Most of the produce he uses in his restaurants now comes from his own farm, ‘Our Farm’. 

Simon Rogan's Books

Simon Rogan has only written one all encompassing book thus far that channels his long restaurant experience into accessible recipes for people to use at home. 

Rogan
Rogan
Published 2018

FAQs

Who trained Simon Rogan?
Paul Norman.

Where is Simon Rogan from?
He was brought up in Southampton.

Is Simon Rogan British?
Yes he is, he was brought up in Southampton.

Who is Simon Rogan?
He is a British chef who has earned his stripes in the restaurant industry and now owns and runs multiple restaurants across the UK.

Does Simon Rogan have any restaurants abroad?
Yes he does, as well as in the UK Simon Rogan has restaurants in Hong Kong.

Simon Rogan's TV Shows

Simon Rogan has only appeared in one TV show, which you can find out about below.

CBS Saturday Morning
2021 - 2021

CBS Saturday Morning

Rogan appeared on the American news and chat show CBS Saturday Morning in 2021.

Saturday Kitchen
2016 - 2017

Saturday Kitchen

Saturday Kitchen is a cooking show that features celebrity chefs, guests and fun challenges. Rogan has appeared on the show twice.

Restaurant Wars: The Battle for Manchester
2014 - 2014

Restaurant Wars: The Battle for Manchester

A three-part documentary series that follows both Simon Rogan and Aiden Byrne as they both try to open restaurants in Manchester, 200 yards from another.

The Great British Menu
2012 - 2021

The Great British Menu

The Great British Menu is a cooking competition featuring the UK's best professional chefs. Simon has appeared as a contestant and a veteran chef.