English chef Sat Bains is famous for both his work in the food industry and also for his television appearances. He is particularly well known to British viewers for competing in the series Great British Menu. Although many people have heard of the chef, there are many facts about Sat Bains they do not know. Here are some Sat Bains facts you might find interesting.
Sat Bains Facts: His Early and Personal Life
Where Was Sat Bains Born?
Satwant Singh Baines, known as Sat Baines, was born in Derby, England, on the 28th of February 1971. He was born just after his parents migrated to England.
Was Sat Bains Interested in Cooking as a Child?
Unlike many people who became chefs, Sat Bains had no interest in food or cooking as a child. However, he remembers that his housewife mother predominantly cooked vegetarian meals, except for occasionally making keema curries at the weekends. Even when he joined a catering course at Derby College, Bains only did so because most students were girls.
Is Sat Bains Married?
Sat Bains married Amanda in 1996. The couple began a relationship when Bains was 18, and Amanda was the restaurant manager at the hotel where he worked. The relationship led to Bains’ parents kicking him out of the house, wanting him to marry an Indian woman.
Does Sat Bains Have Children?
Sat and Amanda Bains do not have any children. They decided not to have children early in their relationship.
Facts About Sat Bains: His Culinary Career
What Has Influenced Sat Bains’s Cooking?
Bains completed his apprenticeship under Mick Murphy, one of the earlier influences on Bains’ cooking. Marco Pierre White also influenced the chef after Bains read the cookbook White Heat. Bains also told Restaurant Online that his Punjabi heritage influenced his cooking.
Did Sat Bains Work with Raymond Blanc?
After reading Marco Pierre White’s cookbook, Bains set out to further his career and sent out CVs to high-class restaurants. One of the chefs to whom he sent a CV was John Burton-Race, although Burton-Race rejected the application. Raymond Blanc offered Bains the chance to work at his restaurant, Le Petit Blanc, for the opening of the Oxford location in 1996.
Where Else Has Sat Bains Worked?
Six months after starting to work at Le Petit Blanc, Bains moved to London, where he worked at L’Escargot for three months. He then returned to Nottingham and applied for a Roux Scholarship in 1999. Unfortunately, the restaurant where he worked closed, so Bains felt like he was the underdog in the competition by the time he reached the final round. He was competing against a chef from Gordon Ramsay’s Aubergine. However, Bains won the competition, leading to his travelling to France to work at the three-Michelin-starred restaurant, Le Jardin des Sens.
Does Sat Bains Have His Own Restaurant?
In 2002, Sat Bains was appointed head chef at the restaurant at Nottingham’s Hotel des Clos. The hotel was relaunched as Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms. The restaurant became the first Nottingham restaurant to receive a Michelin star in 2003. In 2011, the restaurant won its second Michelin star and food critic Jay Raynor said the accolade was long overdue. The AA awarded Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms five rosettes.
Has Sat Bains Won Any Awards?
Restaurants named Sat Bains the Chef’s Chef of the Year in 2009 and he became the Which? Good Food Guide Chef of the Year two years later. He won The Chef Award at The Catey Awards in 2015. Bains also holds an honorary degree of Doctor of Professional Practice awarded to him by the University of Derby in 2011 and an honorary Master of the Arts degree granted by the University of Nottingham the following year.
Has the Chef Published Any Cookbooks?
Sat Bians published his first cookbook, Too Many Chiefs, Only One Indian, in 2011. He also collaborated with Oonagh Robinson to write The Nottingham Cook Book in 2014.
Sat Bains’ Television Appearances
Did Sat Bains Compete in Great British Menu?
Sat Bains is best known for competing in Great British Menu. Andi Oliver currently presents the series, with judges including chef Tom Kerridge, restaurateur Nisha Katona, and comedian Ed Gamble. Bains won the Midlands and the East heat after former judges Prue Leith, Oliver Peyton, and Matthew Fort judged his dishes. He went on to win the starter course with a dish of ham, egg, and peas, and Bains added it to his restaurant’s menu. Other famous chefs who have appeared in the series include Marcus Wareing, Galton Blackiston, and Lisa Goodwin-Allen.
Has He Been Featured on Saturday Kitchen?
Like many chefs in the UK, Sat Bains has been a guest on Saturday Kitchen. Others who have been guests on the Saturday morning cookery series include James Martin, Yotam Ottolenghi, Marcus Wareing, Anna Haugh, and Angela Hartnett.
Has Sat Bains Appeared in Any Other Television Series?
Bains appeared alongside David Chang in an episode of Mind the Chef. In 2015, Bains featured as a guest judge on MasterChef Australia, when contestants had to recreate his beef and mushrooms dish in a pressure test. He appeared in the episode with regular judges George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan, and Matt Preston.
Other Sat Bains Facts
He Has Been Involved in Controversies
Bains was allegedly involved in a cyber-bullying incident. A customer wrote on their blog that he did not enjoy a starter at Hibiscus, Claude Bosi’s restaurant. Several celebrity chefs were accused of cyber-bullying the customer on Twitter. Some have also accused Bains of reacting badly to online criticism of his own restaurants.
He Has a Huge Collection of Cookbooks
Sat Bains is a prolific collector of cookbooks, from which he takes inspiration for his own work. He has d a massive collection, which he estimates to contain between 700 and 800 cookbooks.
What Is His Favourite Restaurant?
Bains has named two restaurants as his favourites in the world. His first is the UK restaurant The Fat Duck, owned by Heston Blumenthal. The second is El Bulli, which was a restaurant in Spain.
What Is Sat Bains’ Favourite Food?
Although Sat Bains combines Indian and British influences in his own cooking, his favourite cuisine is Japanese food. He admires the culture and craftsmanship of Japanese dishes.
We hope you enjoyed reading our Sat Bains facts. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.