Meet the Chefs from Horticulture

Tucked away down Market Lane, Horticulture has become a big favourite in a little over three years since first opening its doors and its mission to offer ’fresh, organic, locally sourced produce throughout’ is evident on every plate that comes out of the kitchen.

But there have been some big changes recently which look set to the take the food to another level. When the previous head chef moved on, owner Mike Hesketh decided to shake things up a bit with young, fresh talent and so the head chef role is now split into two, with Ross Sinclair taking care of the brunch part of the menu and Lawrence Norman heading up the small plates.

The new Horticulture head chefs: Ross Sinclair (l) and Lawrence Norman (r)

Ross has worked in some much-loved North East kitchens, from Kith & Kin out in Whitley Bay to BURDS in Jesmond, and has a real flair for brunches. “I’ve really tried to push the boundaries with brunch and almost rewrite the rules,”, Ross explains, “showing that brunch doesn’t have to be just bacon and eggs. We gained a great following at BURDS and my work eventually caught the eye of Mike, who then sold me on his brilliant ideas for Horticulture.”

Meanwhile, Lawrence got started really young – he was a commis chef in a busy Washington Italian restaurant at 17! – before moving into cocktail bars (“learning about flavour combinations and drinks comes surprisingly handy when writing drinks pairings for my current menus”). He moved back into kitchens with stints at Meat:Stack and Batch before taking on a junior sous chef role at Horticulture. A spell at The Patricia in Jesmond followed and now he’s returning to Horticulture full of skills, inspirations and new ways of working.

Both chefs are buzzing with ideas that take Horticulture to a new level while sticking to the restaurant’s core values. Both of them are also keen to emphasise that they want to make Horticulture a healthy and satisfying place for their team to work. As Ross explains, “We’re trying to create an environment that although physically demanding, doesn’t make the same demands on the mental well-being of the team.”

“I wanted to create a work environment where the staff came first,” adds Lawrence, “giving them a good work-life balance. Helping develop their skills as well as my own, having a plan in place for us to develop and move forward as a team. I want us all to learn how to improve with each menu and to share our joy of food with our clientele!

The pair have been hard at work developing an entirely new menu, which will launch in March, built as ever around local, seasonal and organic produce (a few long-standing favourites, such as the cauliflower steak, will be staying). As Lawrence explains, it will be “Nothing over-complicated, nothing pretentious. Just well executed, well priced, approachable food, that most people will have heard of, with a few of our own little twists.”

Both chefs struggle with suggesting a signature or must-try dish – as Ross explains, “As chefs we’re constantly wanting to evolve and progress… chefs by nature are perfectionists, always in the pursuit of bettering their creations.” When pushed, however, he conceded that there’s a pork belly brunch dish being developed that he’s very proud of.

Lawrence mentions a couple of delicious-sounding dishes he’s obviously proud of too – jerk cod, Jerusalem artichoke – but you can tell there’s one dish he can’t wait to serve. “It’s La Galbi Short Rib, slow-cooked for two days, served with a bone marrow mash, a Me-XO Sauce, and a chipotle carrot. In the trials for this dish, it really blew a lot of the staff away and I can’t wait to share it with the public very soon."

It’s genuinely thrilling to encounter two young chefs so full of excitement and ideas about their food with such commendable attitudes to kitchen culture. If the new Horticulture menu is as good as they want it to be, it’s going to be very special indeed.