Ferdinand ""Budgie"" Montoya is a Filipino-born chef based in London and currently Head Chef of Café Kowloon and Wonton Charlie's, two concepts celebrating the food and drink culture of Hong Kong and Southern China. Born in Davao City and raised between cultures, Montoya's cooking is shaped by a lifelong fascination with migration, identity, and the stories that food carries across borders. His approach combines classical technique with a deep respect for the everyday dishes, street foods, and traditions that define a place. At Café Kowloon, he leads a menu inspired by the energy and spirit of Hong Kong, drawing influence from roast meat shops, cha chaan tengs, dai pai dongs, noodle houses, and Cantonese home cooking. Fire plays a central role in his cooking, from Cantonese roast meats and rotisserie cookery to charcoal grilling and traditional preservation techniques. His food is guided by flavour, craftsmanship, and a commitment to making dishes that are generous, accessible, and rooted in culture. Prior to joining Café Kowloon, Montoya founded Sarap and Apoy, two concepts that helped bring Filipino cuisine to wider audiences across the UK. Through both his cooking and writing, he continues to explore the connections between heritage, migration, and modern food culture, using food as a lens through which to tell stories of identity, memory, and belonging.

Chef bio Carl Philip Dreyer is a Swedish chef, hunter, and fire cook whose food is rooted in the forests and farmland of Skåne, southern Sweden. Food and hunting have been central to his life since childhood, and his driving ambition has always been to bring game meat — particularly venison — to a wider audience in ways that feel exciting, accessible, and entirely new.Through years of work as a tour manager for international artists, Carl travelled the world and absorbed culinary influences from across Asia, the Americas, and beyond. That global perspective now shapes how he reinterprets Swedish wild food: bold flavour combinations, live-fire technique, and an instinct for theatre that makes every dish an experience.Today he runs Blommeröd — a historic estate inaugurated in 1964 as one of Sweden's most celebrated ranches located just one hour from Copenhagen and Malmö. The property has been transformed into a destination for private dinners, BBQ events, weddings, and exclusive experiences in a secluded natural setting. Carl has also appeared as a chef on Swedish and international cooking events, championing wild and game cooking to new audiences across Scandinavia.

Manchester born and bred Danielle Heron honed her skills at the brilliant L’Enclume before heading to the three Michelin-starred Maaemo in Oslo. Along with her partner Sofie, she helmed the acclaimed neighbourhood restaurant, Osma, in Prestwich for five years before announcing their big move to Manchester city centre - soon to come! Shortlisted in the 'I Love MCR' Awards Most-Loved Chef category, Dani's cooking is all about serving up taste experiences with a relaxed edge, showcasing local produce and global flavours. Dani has also previously featured on BBC’s Great British Menu, reaching the national finals. Most recently, she competed in MasterChef: The Professionals in November 2025, wowing the judges and critics with her inventive dishes.

Dave Marrow is a Brighton based chef celebrated for his bold, woodfire driven cooking and inventive styel in the kitchen. With years of experience in some of Sussex’s most respected restaurants, including Terre à Terre, The Dining Room at Deans Place & The Grand Hotel, Marrow has built a reputation for flavour forward, intentional cuisine that celebrates local Sussex produce and traditional techniques. In 2023, he teamed up with longtime friend and fellow chef Isaac Bartlett-Copeland to open the woodfired restaurant Embers in Brighton’s historic South Lanes, a concept centred on cooking over an open kitchen fire cage using local kiln-dried ash and birch wood. Known for his passion for big flavours and robust cooking over the fire, Dave brings a relaxed yet meticulous approach to Embers, where the ethos of “fire and friendship” defines the dining experience. Under his direction, the restaurant has quickly become one of Brighton’s most talked-about destinations.

The Bodega is an award-winning sandwich shop tucked into the heart of Norwich Market, where chef Edd Watkinson brings big flavours from around the world to Norfolk with a laid-back, creative twist. The Bodega blends inspiration from around the world with top-quality local ingredients, building bold, flavour-packed combinations that are inventive without ever being fussy. It’s all about great food, good vibes and not taking things too seriously.

Edson Diaz-Fuentes was born and raised in Mexico City. His love of good food started at an early age, and he started to help his grandmother in the kitchen from the age of 5. He realised he was not quite like the others among his friends when he would spend time from a young age observing meticulously how food was made, served and presented. Edson has spent time living in New York, London and Oaxaca City. It was in Oaxaca where he spent time in the kitchen of Alejandro Ruiz, at Casa Oaxaca, learning about the diversity of some of Mexico’s most treasured ingredients and its slow food cooking techniques. Edson set up Santo Remedio in London in 2015 together with Natalie Feary to recreate the flavours they grew up with in Mexico. What started off as an idea in New York and later a food stall in East London has since evolved into a critically acclaimed restaurant in London Bridge, specialising in grilled Mexican dishes. This was followed by the opening of the Santo Remedio Taqueria in Shoreditch and, most recently, Santo Remedio Marylebone, where Edson, Natalie and the team serve regional specialities such as Duck Carnitas and Beef Brisket Birria, as well as Mexican brunch on weekends. Edson’s first cookbook, Ciudad de Mexico, was published in 2021 by Hardie Grant and won praise from Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver, who featured it in his cookbook club in 2022. Edson enjoys travelling and particularly enjoys getting lost in markets anywhere he visits. And he is no longer bothered by the English weather Edson now considers himself a true Londoner.

Eduardo Salazar is a London-based chef and Executive Chef at Arros QD, where he leads a cuisine defined by fire, rice, and the traditions of Valencia, where he grew up. Originally from Ecuador, his culinary journey is rooted in a deep respect for craftsmanship, with a particular focus on wood-fire cooking and the precision required to master paella. At the heart of Eduardo’s work lies a dedication to rice as both product and technique. Cooking over a six-metre open wood-fire stove, he combines control of flame, timing, and ingredient balance to create dishes that express depth, intensity, and the signature socarrat, the caramelised base that defines exceptional paella. His style blends Mediterranean influence with his own cultural perspective, delivering a cuisine that is both authentic and contemporary.

Ellen Parr has been honing her culinary skills for 20 years. Her passion for cooking over coals was quickly realised at Moro, the first kitchen she cooked in. From there she moved into other prestigious kitchens, Rochelle's Canteen and 6 Portland Rd before finding a love for Chinese cooking whilst travelling through far reaching provinces of China. Returning after stages in Ho Lee Fook and Duddell's in Hong Kong, Ellen started her own venture, Lucky and Joy, a regional Chinese inspired restaurant in Hackney, East London. Known for big and bold flavours, barbecue and wok cooking, Lucky and Joy is now in it's 5th year and a stalwart of the East London restaurant scene.

As a farmer, a butcher & a cook, Flavian Obiero aka The Kenyan Pig Farmer, lives & breathes anything related to food production & its consumption. Having moved to England at 15 from Kenya, he's carved a career in farming which has led him to running his own mixed farm with an on-site butchery & catering business. Flavian pays homage to his Kenyan roots by cooking simple ingredients for maximum flavour - a good quality cut of pork (or any meat) only needs fire & salt. Anything else is extra.