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Satwant Singh "Sat" Bains (born 28 February 1971) is an English chef best known for being chef proprietor of the two-
Michelin star The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...
''Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms'' in
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
, England. He won the
Roux Scholarship The Roux Scholarship is a cooking competition for up and coming chefs in the UK. Set up by the brothers Michel and Albert Roux, and now run by their sons Alain Roux and Michel Roux Jr. It was first run in 1984 with Andrew Fairlie being named the ...
in 1999, and worked in France, before returning to the UK and opening his own restaurant. Bains was also one of the winners on the BBC show ''
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, whe ...
'' in 2007.


Early life

Satwant Bains was born on 28 February 1971 in
Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...
, England. His parents were
Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...
s who had only recently migrated to the UK. Throughout his childhood, Bains's father owned a number of shops, resulting in Sat's first job as a
paperboy A paperboy is someoneoften an older child or adolescentwho distributes printed newspapers to homes or offices on a regular route, usually by bicycle or automobile. In Western nations during the heyday of print newspapers during the early 20th ...
. His mother was a housewife, and cooked mostly vegetarian meals, although would occasionally cook
keema Ground meat, called mince or minced meat outside North America, is meat finely chopped by a meat grinder or a chopping knife. A common type of ground meat is ground beef, but many other types of meats are prepared in a similar fashion, includi ...
on a Saturday. Bains would later recall that he wasn't interested in learning how to cook during his childhood.


Career

At the age of 18, he attended the Wilmorton site of
Derby College Derby College is a further education provider with sites located within Derbyshire (Derby and South East Derbyshire – Ilkeston, Morley). It delivers training in workplace locations across England. The College is a member of the Collab Group ...
, reportedly only joining the catering course because it had the most girls on it. He passed the course, earning a
City & Guilds The City and Guilds of London Institute is an educational organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded on 11 November 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies – to develop a national system of technical education, the institute has ...
qualification. He began to work at a restaurant under Mick Murphy, who he later described as an inspiration due to the passion that Murphy had for food. He discovered the work of
Marco Pierre White Marco Pierre White (born 11 December 1961) is a British chef, restaurateur, and television personality. He has been dubbed "the first celebrity chef" and the ''enfant terrible'' of the UK restaurant scene. In January 1995, aged 33, White became ...
, and read the ''
White Heat ''White Heat'' is a 1949 American film noir directed by Raoul Walsh and starring James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Edmond O'Brien, Margaret Wycherly and Steve Cochran. Written by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts, ''White Heat'' is based on a story by Vi ...
'' cookbook. He would later explain that he read the entire book in three and a half hours, describing it as "iconic". This inspired Bains to strive for something better and he sent off CVs to better-quality restaurants than the one he was working in. One of the chefs that sent him a rejection letter was
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 ...
.
Raymond Blanc Raymond Blanc OBE (born 19 November 1949) is a French chef. Blanc is the chef patron at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, a hotel-restaurant in Great Milton, Oxfordshire, England. The restaurant has two Michelin stars and scored 9/10 in the '' Good ...
hired Bains as one of eighteen staff members for the opening of the first Le Petit Blanc in Oxford in 1996. Bains later recalled that within six months of opening, there were only ten staff members left. He moved on to work at the London-based L'Escargot for 3 months and then returned to Nottingham. Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms, in Nottingham Whilst in Nottingham in 1999, he applied for the
Roux Scholarship The Roux Scholarship is a cooking competition for up and coming chefs in the UK. Set up by the brothers Michel and Albert Roux, and now run by their sons Alain Roux and Michel Roux Jr. It was first run in 1984 with Andrew Fairlie being named the ...
. Between the regional and national round, the restaurant he was working at closed, leaving him unemployed. In the final round he felt as if he were the underdog, and particularly remembers the chef from
Gordon Ramsay Gordon James Ramsay (; born ) is a British chef, restaurateur, television personality and writer. His restaurant group, Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, was founded in 1997 and has been awarded 17 Michelin stars overall; it currently holds a tot ...
's
Aubergine Eggplant ( US, Canada), aubergine ( UK, Ireland) or brinjal (Indian subcontinent, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. ''Solanum melongena'' is grown worldwide for its edible fruit. Mo ...
competing. Bains won the competition, enabling him to travel to France to work at the three Michelin starred Le Jardin des Sens. He worked alongside another chef in training,
René Redzepi René Redzepi (born 16 December 1977) is a Danish chef and co-owner of the three-Michelin star restaurant Noma in the Christianshavn neighborhood of Copenhagen, Denmark. His restaurant was voted the best restaurant in the world by '' Resta ...
. While in the south of France, he also chose to visit
El Bulli El Bulli () was a restaurant near the town of Roses, Catalonia, Spain, run by chef Ferran Adrià and driven by the culinary ideas of Albert Adrià. The restaurant overlooked Cala Montjoi, a bay on Catalonia's Costa Brava. It held three Michelin st ...
in Spain. He became head chef at the Hotel des Clos in Nottingham, which was relaunched as
Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appear ...
in November 2002. Bains sent one of his sous chefs to Denmark to help his former colleague Redzepi open his restaurant
Noma Noma, NoMa, or NOMA may refer to: Places * NoMa, the area North of Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, D.C., US ** NoMa–Gallaudet U station, on Washington Metro * Noma, Florida, US * NOMA, Manchester, a redevelopment in England * Noma Distr ...
during the same year. Restaurant Sat Bains was awarded a Michelin star in 2003 becoming the first restaurant in Nottingham to win a star. The restaurant's Michelin star rating was increased to two stars in 2011, which
food critic The terms food critic, food writer, and restaurant critic can all be used to describe a writer who analyzes food or restaurants and then publishes the results of their findings. While these terms are not strictly synonymous they are often used int ...
Jay Rayner Jason Matthew Rayner (born 14 September 1966) is an English journalist and food critic. Early life Jason Matthew Rayner was born on 14 September 1966. He is the younger son of Desmond Rayner and journalist Claire Rayner. His family is Jewish. He ...
said was overdue and the length of time taken to give Bains his second star undermined Michelin's authority. The restaurant has also been awarded five rosettes by
the AA AA Limited, trading as The AA (formerly The Automobile Association), is a British motoring association. Founded in 1905, it provides vehicle insurance, driving lessons, breakdown cover, loans, motoring advice, road maps and other services. Th ...
. During the summer of 2012, Bains took a turn in being head chef at a popup restaurant on top of the
Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, England, on the South Bank of the River Thames (between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge). It comprises three main performance venues (the Royal Festival Hall including the Nat ...
in London. "The Cube" also featured other chefs such as
Tom Kitchin Thomas William Kitchin is a Scottish chef and owner of The Kitchin, where he became Scotland's youngest winner of a Michelin star. Kitchin and his wife Michaela opened The Kitchin in 2006 on Leith’s waterfront. The restaurant was awarded a ...
and Daniel Clifford. Bains was crowned with the coveted Chef Award at the 2015
The Catey Awards The Cateys are a UK award ceremony for the hospitality industry, first held in 1984. They have been described as the hospitality industry's equivalent of the Oscars. Recipients are nominated, selected and awarded by the industry through ''The Cate ...
.


Television work

After originally declining the chance, he appeared as one of the competitors on the 2007
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, whe ...
where fourteen chefs battled it out to win the chance to cook at a four-course banquet hosted by the British ambassador to France. He won the Midlands and the East heat beating the previous year's winner,
Galton Blackiston Galton Blackiston is an English chef, born in Norfolk. The restaurant of his hotel, Morston Hall, Holt in Morston, is Michelin starred and has 4 AA rosettes. It is on the north Norfolk coast, two miles from Blakeney. His unusual first nam ...
from Norfolk. In the final round, Bains' starter of egg, ham and peas was adjudged the best amongst the seven finalists with three perfect 10 scores from the three judges. Bains went on to add the dish to his menu at Restaurant Sat Bains. Bains credited his appearance on the show for an upturn in sales and a solid booking of the restaurant for the following ten months. He has also made appearances on the 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 UKTV's ''
Market Kitchen ''Market Kitchen'' is a British cookery television programme, made by Optomen, that premiered on the Good Food channel in 2007. Presented by Rachel Allen, Amanda Lamb, Matt Tebbutt, Tom Parker Bowles and Matthew Fort, the programme concentr ...
''. Bains appeared in the 2012 PBS series ''Mind of a Chef'' with David Chang. In his segment during the final episode of that series, Bains comments on the appearance of his smoked onion aioli, "you know it's going to be aggressive, because it's black."


Awards

''
Restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...
'' named him the Chef's Chef of the Year in 2009. He was also named the ''
Which? ''Which?'' is a United Kingdom brand name that promotes informed consumer choice in the purchase of goods and services by testing products, highlighting inferior products or services, raising awareness of consumer rights and offering independen ...
Good Food Guide'' Chef of the Year in 2011. The
University of Derby , mottoeng = Experience is the best teacher , established = 1851 – Teacher Training College1992 – gained university status , type = Public , chancellor = William Cavendish, Ear ...
awarded Bains an honorary degree of Doctor of Professional Practice in April 2011, and this was followed by an honorary Master of Arts degree from the
University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...
in 2012.


Personal life

Bains has a collection of between 700 and 800 cookbooks, and published his first in September 2012 entitled "Too Many Chiefs Only One Indian". He has stated that his favourite restaurant is
Heston Blumenthal Heston Marc Blumenthal (; born 27 May 1966) is a British celebrity chef, TV personality and food writer. Blumenthal is regarded as a pioneer of multi-sensory cooking, food pairing and flavour encapsulation. He came to public attention with u ...
's
The Fat Duck The Fat Duck is a fine dining restaurant in Bray, Berkshire, England. It is run by celebrity chef proprietor Heston Blumenthal. Housed in a 16th-century building that had previously been the site of the Bell pub, the Fat Duck opened on 16 Aug ...
, or
El Bulli El Bulli () was a restaurant near the town of Roses, Catalonia, Spain, run by chef Ferran Adrià and driven by the culinary ideas of Albert Adrià. The restaurant overlooked Cala Montjoi, a bay on Catalonia's Costa Brava. It held three Michelin st ...
in Spain. He is married to his wife Amanda; they met whilst they were both teenagers.


Controversies

On 7 November 2012, Bains was among a number of chefs who joined in the
cyber-bullying Cyberbullying or cyberharassment is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means. Cyberbullying and cyberharassment are also known as online bullying. It has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers, as the digital ...
of a customer to his associate Claude Bosi's restaurant
Hibiscus ''Hibiscus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising several hundred species that are native to warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species ...
. James Isherwood had written on his blog 'Dining With James' that he had not enjoyed his starter, leading Bosi and fellow Michelin star chef
Tom Kerridge Thomas Kerridge (born 27 July 1973) is an English chef. After initially appearing in several small television parts as a child actor, he decided to attend culinary school at the age of 18. He has since worked at a variety of British restaurants, ...
to verbally abuse him on Twitter. He has also been known to react badly to online criticism, such as TripAdvisor reviews, insulting customers on a personal level when they have been unhappy with his restaurant.


References


External links

*
Official website of the restaurant
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bains, Sat 1971 births Living people British people of Indian descent People from Derby People from Nottingham English chefs Head chefs of Michelin starred restaurants Alumni of the University of Derby