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Turn repeated problems into workable systems
Clarify responsibilities, routines and standards so good work does not depend on one person remembering everything.
About Chefs Studio
A clearer way through the challenges of running a professional kitchen.
When daily pressure, unclear systems or scattered information make progress difficult, Chefs Studio helps you find practical ideas, trusted resources and a useful next step.
The reality of professional kitchens
Hard work is not usually the problem.
You and your team already work hard. The difficulty is finding enough time and headspace to solve the issues that keep returning.
Important systems may live in one person’s head. Costs and waste can be difficult to see. Standards drift under pressure. Useful knowledge is scattered across books, articles and experience, while urgent service demands your attention.
You should not have to untangle every challenge alone or waste time on advice that does not fit the reality of a working kitchen.
How Chefs Studio can help
Move from recurring pressure to practical progress.
Start with the issue that is costing you the most time, confidence or consistency. From there, the right information and a clear plan can make change feel manageable.
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Make cost and waste easier to understand
Find practical ways to see where resources are being lost and where better information can support stronger decisions.
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Give your team clearer ways to work
Create more consistency around communication, expectations and the everyday habits that keep service moving.
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Find resources worth your limited time
Use focused books, articles and professional guidance without having to sift through advice that does not apply to your kitchen.
What you can expect
Clear guidance that respects the reality of your work.
Practical over theoretical
Ideas should be useful during a real working week, not only impressive on paper.
Clear over complicated
You should understand the recommendation, why it matters and what to do next.
Useful over performative
Every resource or conversation should help you make a decision or improve an outcome.
A straightforward plan
You do not need to solve everything at once.
Begin with the challenge that matters most. One clear next step is more useful than another overwhelming list.
1
Share the issue
Tell us what is happening, why it matters and what a better result would look like for you.
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Clarify the next step
Ian will help identify the most useful resource, conversation or practical route forward.
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Move forward with confidence
Use a clear recommendation to make progress without adding unnecessary complexity to the kitchen.
Your next step
Tell us what is getting in the way.
Describe the kitchen issue in front of you and the outcome you want. We will help you find a sensible place to begin.
The experience behind the guidance
Built by people who understand the work.
The practical guidance on Chefs Studio is shaped by two professional backgrounds: decades spent leading kitchens and hospitality businesses, and a career connecting culinary experience with publishing, communication and digital development.
Chef, hotelier & author
Ian McAndrew
More than five decades in professional kitchens, Michelin-starred restaurants, hospitality ownership, consultancy and food writing.
Explore Ian’s books →With three successful books under his belt, Ian’s career spans more than five decades. Together with his wife Jane, they bring over 100 years of combined hospitality experience across almost every genre of the industry.
Their careers include five-star hotels in England and Germany: Ian with Anton Mosimann at The Dorchester, The Carlton Tower and Intercontinental Hotels; Jane at the Vier Jahreszeiten in Hamburg, the Capital Hotel and London’s Waldorf Hotel, among many others.
Within a year of taking his first head-chef position at Eastwell Manor in Kent, Ian was awarded a Michelin star. Three years later, Ian and Jane opened their first restaurant in Canterbury, regained the coveted star during their first year and went on to hold Michelin recognition for eight years. Ian was, at the time, the youngest Englishman to gain a Michelin star.
They have owned two restaurants and been partners in two others. Ian’s books—A Feast of Fish, Poultry & Game and A Feast of Fish 2—were bestsellers, and he was featured in Kit Chapman’s Great British Chefs. He received the honour of Chef Laureate of the British Academy of Gastronomes in the same year as Raymond Blanc. Chefs including Andrew Fairlie, Paul Kitching, Michael Deane and Phil Vickery passed through his kitchens.
Ian and Jane later owned Blackaddie House Hotel in Dumfries & Galloway for 14 years, achieving four Gold Star status and two AA Rosettes. Before Blackaddie, Ian ran The Culinary Consultancy Company, advising the hotel and catering industry at every level. Clients included Marks & Spencer, the NHS, Marfo Martinair, Anton Mosimann’s club, Sheffield University, ONE Anglia Railways, TAPS in Istanbul, GEEST and the Master Chefs of Great Britain.
Ian also served as Culinary Director of London contract caterer In House Catering and, until 2021, was Chairman of Visit South West Scotland, the region’s Destination Management Organisation.
Chef, publisher & digital strategist
Shaun Smith-Roberts
A culinary background developed into publishing, food media, editorial structure and digital strategy.
Chefs Studio is also shaped by Shaun Smith-Roberts, whose own culinary background adds a second layer of professional experience to the platform.
Shaun began his career in the Royal Air Force, where an apprenticeship led to cooking for the British Royal Family, foreign heads of state and visiting dignitaries. He later worked in professional kitchens including Ménage à Trois in Knightsbridge and a Michelin-starred kitchen in London, before moving into publishing, food media and editorial development.
Working with both Ian McAndrew and Keith Floyd helped define the direction of that work, combining serious kitchen understanding with a wider interest in food culture, communication and place.
Within Chefs Studio, Shaun works on editorial structure, publishing development, digital strategy and content shaping—making Ian’s experience easier to navigate, understand and apply without losing the honesty of the original voice.
Selected recognition
Some of Ian’s accolades.
A working record spanning competition kitchens, restaurant guides, hotel awards, professional institutions and publishing.
Career milestones
- Gold Medal Winner, Basel Culinary Olympics, 1977
- Michelin star recognition, 1981–1988
- Chef Laureate, British Academy of Gastronomes, 1987
- Author of A Feast of Fish, Poultry & Game and A Feast of Fish 2
- Featured by The Times Magazine as one of three “People to watch in the Nineties”, 1989
- Kent Restaurant of the Year, 1984
Hospitality awards
- Four Gold Stars, AA
- Four Gold Stars, VisitScotland
- Best Restaurant Experience, Thistle Awards, 2020
- Ambassador for Scotland, Thistle Awards, 2018
- CIS Chef of the Year, 2016
- D&G Life Chef of the Year, 2016
- CIS Chef of the Year finalist, 2011, 2014 and 2015
- Three Gold Stars, VisitScotland, 2014
- Silver EatScotland, 2009–2013
- Two AA Rosettes, 1998 and 2009–2014
Guides & recognition
- Good Food Guide 16/20, 1986–1988
- Good Food Guide 15/20, 1981–1985
- Hampshire Brasserie of the Year, Good Food Guide, 1997
- Good Food Guide 5/10, 1997–1998
- Good Food Guide 4/10, 2010–2014
- Good Hotel Guide, 2014
- Egon Ronay One Star, 1982–1988