Chef Tom Brown to launch training restaurant in Cornwall

Chef Tom Brown will oversee a new restaurant in Penzance’s Grade I-listed Market House which will “help train the next generation of hospitality talent”.

Brown has collaborated with the Penzance Regeneration Company on the initiative, which will see a new training restaurant launched next summer for hospitality students attending Penwith College.

The training restaurant will occupy the first floor of Penzance’s Market House and be named AG Brown, after chef Tom Brown’s father.

Brown will be responsible for menu development, delivery standards and “restaurant ethos” in his role at AG Brown, which will be majority staffed by students, graduates, apprentices and those on work placements.

While he will be based in London, Brown “will return to Penzance regularly to deliver masterclasses and provide mentoring and support to students throughout the year”.

Brown was born and raised in Cornwall and began his culinary career at outposts across the region, culminating as head chef at Nathan Outlaw’s establishment in Rock’s St Enodoc hotel.

Brown is now head chef at his Michelin-starred eponymous restaurant at the Capital hotel in Knightsbridge. His previous solo venture, the Cornerstone in London’s Hackney Wick, was also awarded a Michelin star before its closure in 2024.

Brown said: “I was lucky enough to have some very supportive people give me opportunities when I was starting out in my career, and I know how important that first step can be. AG Brown is a chance for me to come home to Cornwall and help a new generation of young people discover just how exciting and rewarding hospitality can be.

“I want the restaurant to be a place where students are properly supported but also challenged to be the very best they can be. There’s so much incredible produce, talent and potential in West Cornwall, and I want AG Brown to help showcase that while giving young people the skills, confidence and experience they need to build successful careers.”

Truro and Penwith College principal Carl Riding added: “This partnership will give our students an exceptional opportunity to learn in a professional restaurant, supported by experienced industry professionals. It connects education directly with employment, helping young people develop the skills, confidence and experience they need whilst supporting the future of West Cornwall’s hospitality sector.”

Brown’s Island restaurant, which he operates alongside chef Brad Carter, will relocate from London’s King’s Cross to 60-cover restaurant on the first floor of the Peasant pub in Clerkenwell.

The Grade-II listed pub is set to return to its original name, George & Dragon, in September under Barworks founder Marc Francis-Baum.

Photo: Lateef Okunnu