Driven by his pure love of food and his affection for the collaborative nature of the kitchen, Tom Cenci has earned a place as one of London’s most prominent chefs, including Julian Owen-Mold and Joel Robuchon. Tom pushes culinary boundaries with his eclectic and exciting menus, as a reflection of his passion for his craft. His career launched in Michelin-starred establishments. While he continued to work, he studied his craft further at Academy of Culinary Arts at Bournemouth and Poole College.
In 2000, having gained his diploma at age 20, Tom moved to Michelin starred ‘1 Lombard Street’ restaurant in London, where he worked under Herbert Berger, one of the first chefs in the U.K. to gain a Michelin star. Later in his life, he traveled all around the world from Paris to Istanbul, Canada and then returned to the UK in 2010. After six years at Duck & Waffle, London’s first 24/7 upscale restaurant that’s open 365 days of the year and 40 floors up in the air, the time had come for Tom to seek a new challenge. In 2019 Tom took over the ‘Village East’ site in London, and re-launched it as ‘Loyal Tavern’ with restaurateur Adam White, with a menu of seasonal British produce and a play on comfort food. Unfortunately, Loyal Tavern was unable to reopen after the lockdown due to COVID-19.
Throughout Tom’s career, he has taken on side projects working with restaurants, brands and companies like Hakkasan, Soho House and Consensio. He is currently consulting on various projects whilst seeking opportunities. He also organises a program called Hospitali-Tee that aims to raise mental health awareness and improve the wellbeing of hospitality professionals through the benefits of golf.
