Chef profile: Jon Howe, chef proprietor of Lumiere Restaurant, Cheltenham

Tell us a bit about yourself
I have run Lumiere for the past (almost) 17 years with my wife Helen. Lumiere has been recognised with a Michelin star, four AA Rosettes and was recently ranked 9th in the Hardens list.  Probably best known for my precise yet playful approach to modern British cooking, with menus that change constantly in step with the seasons with the help of our kitchen garden.

 

What’s your favourite thing about where you work?
I love the creative freedom that comes from being truly independent and I’m not answerable to anyone. We don’t have any financial backers or investors, so I can shape my menus around seasons, the garden, trusted producers, whatever I want. Every service feels fresh and personal.

 

What was your first job in catering?
My first job out of college was with Stuart McLeod at Washbourne Court. I was almost persuaded to take a job at the local golf club for much more money but I was very lucky that my college tutor, Kean Maslen, quite firmly if I remember, pointed me in a direction that changed my career path.

 

What do you do to relax?
I love travelling, one of our most recent culinary trips took us from Copenhagen to Norway to Barcelona, with stops at the Alchemist, Jordnaer, Iris, Enigma and Cocina Hermanos Torres – the whole trip was incredible. Away from food, my passion is fast cars. I really enjoy track days and the social side of car culture, especially now with my latest acquisition of Hyundai IONIQ 5 N – and my actual favourite thing about where I work is that this is totally tax deductible because it’s fully electric!

 

Which is your favourite restaurant?
Jordnaer in Copenhagen

 

What’s your favourite hotel?
Hands down, Moor Hall – I don’t use the term lightly but it was just perfection when we visited.

 

What is your favourite drink?
I’m very partial to a good Cali Chard or a South African Chenin. I am very fortunate that some of our friends run a fabulous wine bar in Cheltenham – the Grape Escape – so I have been slowly educated in the ways of wine since discovering that I shouldn’t really be drinking too much beer due to a gluten intolerance.

 

What is your favourite food/cuisine?
At the moment I am loving BBQ – the smoke, the marinades, the filth— I have just brought a Bradley Smoker and it creates the most delicious pork belly, its such a good bit of kit and is a really interesting addition to our kitchen.

 

Which ingredient do you hate the most?
Ocra 

 

Are there any foods/ingredients that you refuse to cook with? If so, why?
So I actually have quite a few food allergies and intolerances so I would refuse to use an ingredient that I couldn’t taste myself, that’s why our kitchen is completely nut free apart from almonds.

 

Which person gave you the greatest inspiration?
Whilst working with Stuart, I was fortunate enough to be taken as a young chef to the Fat Duck, I think it was one star at the time – Heston sat down with us after dinner for a chat and said something along the lines of “question everything” – its just something that’s always stuck with me.

 

If you had not gone into catering, where do you think you would be now?
I want to say an F1 driver but in all honesty cooking is all I have ever wanted to do.

 

Describe your ultimate nightmare?
Standing up to give a speech and realising that I was completely naked.

 

What irritates you most about the industry?
The media’s image of it and the narrative that it isn’t a good industry to work in for young people. Times have changed so much from when I was a young chef when the industry really was brutal at times but now there isn’t a better industry for hardworking, young people who want to learn the skills which can take them anywhere in the world.

And obviously the amount of taxes we have to pay!

 

Who would play “you” in a film about your life?
Jake Gyllenhaal plays a great perfectionist under pressure although Helen would probably say Monica from Friends.

 

What is your favourite prepared product?
Kewpie Mayo - I just can’t get enough of it!

 

Who would be in your fantasy brigade?

• Albert Adria (Enigma) on canapes from his time at Tickets 
• Mark Birchell (Moor Hall) for starters – everything Mark does is on point, produce driven & really delicious
• Eric Kragh Vildgaard (Jordnær) with the fish section. I think his palate is most similar to mine
• Brett Graham (the Ledbury) on mains – how he treats his own reared venison is a dish that I would just love to see
• James ‘Jocky’ Petrie (the Fat Duck) – the most amazing & creative pastry chef I have ever had the pleasure to be in the kitchen with