Michael O'Hare (born June 1981) is a British chef from

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He was chef-patron at The Man Behind The Curtain in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

, which was awarded a Michelin star in October 2015. He also ran The Rabbit in the Moon at the

National Football Museum The National Football Museum is England's national museum of football. It is based in the Urbis building in Manchester city centre, and preserves, conserves and displays important collections of football memorabilia. The museum was originally b ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. O'Hare began cooking whilst at university before becoming a professional chef, gaining experience at various restaurants including

John Burton-Race John William Burton-Race (born 1 May 1957) is a British Michelin starred chef, television personality and celebrity chef, made famous by the Channel 4 series ''French Leave'' and its sequel ''Return of the Chef'' and '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me O ...

at The Landmark and Noma.

Early life and career

O'Hare was born in

England. He describes Redcar, North Yorkshire, as his home town. From the age of 11 to 18 he studied classical and modern ballet. He briefly studied aerospace engineering at

Kingston University , mottoeng = "Through Learning We Progress" , established = – gained University Status – Kingston Technical Institute , type = Public , endowment = £2.3 m (2015) , ...

, London, deciding to leave the course after a few months. In his early twenties, he worked in a call centre in Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees for energy company nPower. It was during his time at university at the age of 19 that O'Hare began cooking: "I just liked going to the supermarket. I wasn't making sauces and all that. Just buying a bit of fish and grilling it." Instead of attending catering college, he decided to begin his cooking career learning within professional kitchens, with his first job at Judges in

Yarm Yarm, also referred to as Yarm-on-Tees, is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, England. It was previously a port town before the industry moved down the River Tees to more accessible settlements n ...

. Other restaurants where he worked include

Seaham Hall Seaham Hall is an English country house, now run as a spa hotel, in County Durham. History Seaham Hall was built in the 1790s by Sir Ralph Milbanke, 6th Baronet. In 1815 the poet Lord Byron married Anne Isabella Milbanke at Seaham Hall. The fr ...

, working for John Burton-Race at The Landmark and Noma before becoming head chef at The Blind Swine in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

. In 2014, O'Hare opened his restaurant with the backing of Stephen Baylis, The Man Behind The Curtain in Leeds, where he is chef-patron. He has gained a reputation for creative and often unusual dishes. These include chocolate pudding with potato foam, raw prawn tails with cooked prawn brains and a dessert with baked potato custard. In 2015, O'Hare took part in BBC2's ''

The Great British Menu ''Great British Menu'' is a BBC television series in which top British chefs compete for the chance to cook one course of a four-course banquet. Format Series one and two were presented by Jennie Bond, the former BBC Royal correspondent, wher ...

'' where he made a dish entitled 'Emancipation' – a fish dish inspired by fish and chips served on a canvas. GG Hospitality In 2016, O'Hare became Creative Director of GG Hospitality, a company created by ex-professional footballers Ryan Giggs and

Gary Neville Gary Alexander Neville (born 18 February 1975) is an English football pundit and former player. He is also a co-owner of English Football League club Salford City. After retiring from football in 2011, Neville went into punditry and was a comm ...

. The company, along with O'Hare, opened a 'space-age Asian' restaurant called The Rabbit in the Moon at the National Football Museum in Manchester on 3 January 2017. O'Hare is also due to set up a fine dining restaurant – The Man Who Fell To Earth, and a less formal restaurant called Are Friends Electric within a new Manchester hotel at the

Manchester Stock Exchange The Manchester Stock Exchange, later a branch of the Northern Stock Exchange, is now a Grade II listed hotel. at 2–6 Norfolk Street, Manchester. It was built at a cost of £86,000, between 1904 and 1906 by Bradshaw, Gass and Hope, the Bolton ...

owned by GG Hospitality. In October 2023, O'Hare closed The Man Behind the Curtain, and opened a new restaurant called Psycho Sandbar in early 2024.

Media

O'Hare competed in BBC2's ''The Great British Menu'' in 2015. In 2016, he appeared on BBC's ''

Masterchef ''MasterChef'' is a competitive cooking show television format created by Franc Roddam, which originated with the UK version in July 1990. The format was revived and updated for the BBC in February 2005 by executive producers Roddam and John ...

''. He also made guest appearances on BBC's ''

Saturday Kitchen ''Saturday Kitchen Live'' is a British cookery programme, that is broadcast live on BBC One every Saturday between 10.00am and 11.30am produced by Cactus TV. History 2002–2003 After a pilot hosted by Ainsley Harriott on 14 April 2001, the ...

'' and on ''Yes Chef'' in 2016 on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

. In 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023 and 2024 he returned to ''The Great British Menu'' as a judge.

Personal life

O'Hare has one child. O'Hare has become well known for his individual personal style. He became instantly recognisable with his 'rockstar hair' after his appearance on ''The Great British Menu'' and says “I know for a fact there could have been TV shows off the back of that haircut.” He is a qualified pilot, gaining his licence in Daytona a few years after leaving university.

Television

*''The Great British Menu'' – 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023 *''Saturday Kitchen'' – 2015 *''Masterchef'' – 2016 *''Yes Chef'' – 2016

References

External links

Restaurant website
Themanbehindthecurtain.co.uk
Bio at BBC.co.ukInterview at Staff CanteenThe Rabbit in the Moon
Official website therabbitinthemoon.com {{DEFAULTSORT:OHare, Michael 1981 births Living people English male chefs English television chefs Head chefs of Michelin starred restaurants