Bryn Williams

Bryn Williams (born June 6 1977 in Llanelwy) is a chef originally from Dinbych (Denbigh), North Wales. He is the head chef and sole proprietor of Odette's Restaurant, Primrose Hill, London.

Biography

The middle child of three brothers born in Ysbyty H M Stanley Hospital, Llanelwy (St Asaph), Denbighshire to Welsh speaking parents. He received all his education through the Welsh Medium before moving on to college. Bryn lived in Denbigh up until the age of 18, when he moved to London.

Early Years

Bryn's interest in food began as a young child during a primary school visit to a bakery in Denbigh. Seeing the individual ingredients turned into bread sparked an interest in food and its processes that would stay with him. He would later work at the same bakery as a teenager on Saturday mornings.

After leaving high school at the age of 16 he attended Coleg Llandrillo Cymru - studying catering - where he was awarded student of the year. Bryn has recently been appointed Skills Ambassador for the college, a position specially created for him.

After leaving college and working in Cafe Nicoise in Colwyn Bay, he was encouraged by the then head chef to take his skills to London. He was taken on by Marco Pierre White at the Criterion.

Professional career

For a young man, Bryn has worked with some of the biggest names in the business. After 3 years for Marco Pierre White at the Criterion, he was sous chef under the tutelage of Michel Roux Jr at Le Gavroche for another three years. In 2001 he decided to experience European cuisine at first hand, working at the acclaimed Patisserie Millet in Paris, which is also where the Roux family honed their skills. In the same year, he went on to work at Hotel Negresco, a two Michelin-starred restaurant in Nice.

Back in Britain, Bryn moved to the Michelin-starred Orrery Restaurant in London, working there for four years under the tutelage of head chef André Garrett. Whilst working at the Orrery he competed for the highly acclaimed Roux Scholarship, gaining 2nd place. In autumn 2006 he left one of London's hottest restaurants - Galvin at Windows - to become head chef at Odette's in Primrose Hill, which was owned by music impressario Vince Power.

Odette's

Bryn became sole chef-proprietor of Odette's on October 1st, 2008. He took full control of the London restaurant two years after being appointed head chef.

Television Appearances

In 2006 he was a contestant on BBC Two's Great British Menu, impressing the judges throughout the stages of the competition. He beat Angela Hartnett in the regional round, and went on to win the public's vote to cook the fish course at the Queen's 80th birthday celebrations. He retained his crown when he beat Matt Tebbutt. He has since appeared on Saturday Kitchen numerous times, Something for the Weekend and Market Kitchen. Being a first language Welsh speaker, Bryn has also appeared in several programmes on the Welsh language television channel, S4C.

External links

* [http://www.odettesprimrosehill.com Odette's Restaurant - Primrose Hill]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/tv_and_radio/menu_index.shtml Great British Menu - BBC Website]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/northeast/guides/halloffame/showbiz/bryn_williams.shtml BBC's North East guides - Hall of Fame, Bryn Williams]