Birthday: 28 February 1971
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Sat Bains was born on the 28 February 1971 in Derbyshire to his Sikh parents who had recently moved to the UK. Despite cooking later being his calling, Sat (or Satwant, as his family formally named him) kick-started his career as a paper boy. Undecided on what he wanted to do for a living, he took up a course at Derby College where he completed a City & Guilds catering and hospitality qualification.
On finishing his course, Sat secured a job at a local restaurant, and after reading Marco Pierre White’s book White Heat, Sat was then encouraged to pursue a career in fine dining. After sending out a slew of CVs, he was taken on by Raymond Blanc alongside 17 other chefs to open the French chef's first bistro Le Petit Blanc in Oxford, in 1996. Following a three-month stint working at L’Escargot in London, he moved back home to Nottingham to take on a job closer to home. At the same time, he also applied for and won the Roux Scholarship, where he competed against a wealth of top chefs. The win enabled him travel to France to undertake a stage at three Michelin starred Le Jardin des Sens.
In 2002 he launched his Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms in Nottingham, a restaurant which went on to win a Michelin star in 2003, and a second star in 2011. It was the first restaurant in Nottingham to win a Michelin star.
Having since worked alongside chefs such as Tom Kitchin and Daniel Clifford at various pop ups and events, Sat Bains has also been bestowed many awards. In 2009 he was named Restaurant’s Chef’s Chef of the Year, while Which? Good Food Guide named him Chef of the Year in 2011. The University of Derby gave Bains an honoury degree and he also holds an honoury Master of Arts from Nottingham University, which he received in 2012. Finally, he was awarded the Chef Award at the 2015 The Cate Awards, which celebrate people in the hospitality industry.
Sat is married to his childhood sweetheart Amanda, who helps to manage the day-to-day operations at the restaurant.