Meet The Team
Richard Knights, Head Chef
Head Chef Richard has been at The Lavender House since it opened in 2002; part of the original Hughes & Knights double act! Originally running the pastry section, he took over the reins of the kitchen from Mr Hughes in October 2006. He also runs the Norfolk Professional Chefs School at The Lavender House, is an ex-lecturer at the Hotel School, and was in charge of the Hotel School Culinary Compettion team. A keen competitor, Richard was a semi-finalist in the National Chef of the Year 2006, and again in 2008. The only time he's away from the kitchen is when he is competing around the country, adding to his medal tally! He has recently had work experience at Tom Aikens and Pied a Terre; weeks of work he takes in lieu of holiday! When not thinking of new ideas, dishes or sourcing ingredients, Richard loves fast cars and the Foo Fighters! His favourite dining experience was the 9 course tasting menu, with accompanying wines, he had on his last day at Pied a Terre.
Sam Matthews, Restaurant Manager
Restaurant Manager, Sam, joined the team at 15 on a work experience placement, studied Hotel Management at The Hotel School, and joined full time in July 2007. However, Sam's association with The Lavender House goes much further back, having lived in the house next door until he was 10! He would regularly dine in the restaurant in a high chair! Sam loves to eat out, and hopes to try all the great wines of the world. His favourite dining experience was at The French Laundry in California where he sampled Oysters, Caviar, Wagyu Beef and lashings of black and white truffle! His favourite wines to quaff are Spanish and South American whites. This year Sam combined a tour of the Napa Valley, some of California's finest restaurants, Wrestlemania in Texas, and a stateside tour of Subway! Unfortunately, Sam has had a season ticket at Carrow Road for the last 12 years; his all time favourite City legend being Iwan Roberts. Enough said!
Julia Hetherton, Chocolatier
Julia looks after everything to do with the art of chocolate at The Lavender House. She joined the team direct from Norwich Hotel School, where she won a host of awards including Bakery Student of the Year, Craft Student of the Year, The Hoste Arms Cup for Craft Skills and the EDP Food Awards Young Chef of the Year in 2006. She has been on numerous work experience stints, including two weeks at Le Manor aux Quat Saisons, a week with Angela Hartnett at The Connaught, courses at Callebaut Chocolate in Banbury and, most recently, a week with William Curley, the UK Chocolatier of the Year in 2006 and 2008. Julia teaches all the chocolate courses, and assists Richard every Saturday with the Saturday Morning Kitchens. She was brought up in Harare, Zimbabwe, where her parents still reside, coming to Norwich in 2005. Her eventual ambition is to own her own chocolate shop and patisserie. Her favourite dining experience is at The Cocoa Tree, a chocolate cafe in her home town of Harare. Her culinary hero is Clare Clarke, the British Pastry Chef at The French Laundry in California.
Jon Gay, Chef de Partie
Ex-Wymondham High Head Boy, Jon came to The Lavender House on work experience when he was 15, joining part time and working in conjunction with a full time Chefs Craft Course at Hotel School. Jon is the current holder of the 2008 EDP Young Chef of the Year. He has had a week's work experience at Le Manoir aux Quat Saisons, and his favourite restaurant is Purnell's in Birmingham. A lover of everything weird and whacky, Jon's hero is Heston Blumenthal, and his long-term ambition is to work at El Bulli.
Adam Knights, Commis Chef
The newest member of the team is Adam. He is no stranger to the set up as he has been with us since a young age: I seem to remember him washing up once standing on a box so he could reach in the sink! Adam Knights, as the name gives away, is following his older brother into The Lavender House kitchen to learn his trade as a chef. Hopefully, the next young talent to be put through The Lavender House training scheme, he has already developed a confident hand in the bread and pastry sections. Adam's interests include music and computer games, he is enthusiastic about, and loves eating, oriental food, and he is clearly on the right track as he names Rick Stein as his food hero!
Kate Housden, Office Manager
Kate is arguably the most important member of The Lavender House team. She is the first point of contact for the majority of our customers. If you phone to book a table, buy a book, send an e-mail, receive something in the post from us, this is all Kate's work! She has worked with Richard from the early days at The Lavender House in an administrative role looking after all the "behind the scenes" aspects of the business. If the chefs need a recipe from our database, need to check the price from a veg supplier, if Sam needs to know what wine the large party has pre-ordered, or if Richard has lost his wallet (again!), Kate will know the answer! She knows nothing about football (unlike the rest of the team), but does like an eclectic mix of music from Tom Jones to The Ting Tings!
Richard Hughes, Proprietor
With over 30 years experience, Richard is from the "seen it all, done it all school", which is why he is described as the "annoying man, always moaning" on the menu cover! Trained back in 1977 with the Mobbs' family at The Imperial Hotel in Great Yarmouth, his experience includes employment in such diverse places as Michelin starred Rookery Hall in Nantwich, to the Theatre Royal in Norwich! Richard opened his first business in 1991, Number Twenty Four at Wymondham, before moving to Brundall in 2002. Richard's culinary heroes include Raymond Blanc, Fergus Henderson and David Adlard. Other heroes include Paulo di Canio, Mick Jagger and BB King. He was one of the first members of the Kate Bush Fan Club in 1978. Richard's memorable meals include The Greenhouse (when Gary Rhodes was cooking) in 1992, and Le Moulin at Loumarin, Provence in 2007.
