About Us
Jon Howe
Somerset born Jon Howe has trained under some of the finest Chefs in the country, most notably John Campbell, Heston Blumenthal & Stuart McCloud.
After studying at Bath College, he worked for a number of Michelin starred & other highly acclaimed restaurants, gastropubs and hotels, including Lords of the Manor in Upper Slaughter & The Castle House Hotel in Hereford and he has competed at many levels with gold medals at both the West Midlands Salon as well as Hotel Olympia, Bedford Salon Culinarie and Bournemouth Salon Culinaire which lead to him being selected for the British Culinary Team at several international competitions with great success. He took his first Head Chefs job at the age of 25 at The Three Crowns in Ullingswick in Herefordshire to critical acclaim achieving a Michelin Bib Gourmand, 2 AA rosettes and Les Routiers Dining Pub of the Year for UK and Ireland 2003 within the first 8 months in the position. Since then he has acquired the skills and experience to make him one of the most competent and exciting chefs in the country. He has also worked on stages at two of the best restaurant in the country- The Fat Duck in Bray and The Greenhouse in London. Now given the freedom to cook his own food with no managerial or owner restraints for the first time his culinary ability has developed its own identity at Lumière.
Lumiere
We took over at Lumière in January,2009. On entering Lumière, you will immediately notice a warm and intimate feeling with a refreshing lack of pretension. Our restaurant is contemporary and airy, designed in cool purples and creams with modern works of art and glass, generous table sizes and comfortable chairs. With white on white tablecloths, Rieldel stemware, Wedgewood and Bernadaub plain white plates, mirror finish cutlery and a simple opalescent candle chimney as a centrepiece. The overall effect is calm, modern and stylish. With my blend of friendly and informative service, combined with Jon's culinary ability and Modern British style, we create a relaxed, intimate atmosphere, which we hope will leave you wanting just one more mouthful.
Our preference has always been to use fantastic fresh, seasonal food delivered daily from local farms, regional suppliers and markets to create a short inspirational menu that changes frequently to make the most of the fresh produce available to us. We're not organic obsessive but what we buy must taste great and also be reared ethically and sustainably, luckily the two usually go hand in hand. We believe in British seasonal food, the freshest fish sustainably sourced from Looe in Cornwall, line caught by day boats not from trawlers, beautiful hand dived scallops and using the best quality meat available. Jon\'s beautifully presented food is focused firmly on great ingredients and bold flavours with an interesting use of unusual ingredients and combinations. He excels in being able to put a new and interesting twist on traditional dishes and bring them into the twenty first century. We make everything in house; from the canapès to the bread, the ice cream to the chocolates (everything, apart from the cheese biscuits!), but not because we just like to say its “homemade” but because we want to give our customers the best we possibly can and an experience that will stay with them for a long time.
We hope its clear that the food and wine list is put together by people who don't do this for the corporate bottom line, but people who care about the quality of the final product and have true passion for their work.
When time permits we visit our suppliers and do the rounds of Europe's famous restaurants and vineyards, as well as those in Britain in a search for knowledge & inspiration to further our ideas. Jon devours all the latest cookbooks, especially those on the science of food- the “science bit” also makes an appearance on the menu from time to time too. These modern cooking techniques are combined with strong classic roots to keep the menus up to date. “It is very difficult to do something truly original, but we add our own touches and our own twists”. Jon's current love is deconstructing classic dishes; taking all of the ingredients but putting them together in a different way.
Running a restaurant, however, is not only about the food (or so I keep telling Jon!). It is also about offering hospitality and giving you, the customers, a memorable, relaxed time in comfortable surroundings by a knowledgeable small team who understand how to make your experience one you won't forget. And that's it, that's our goal (But I'll tell you a secret… we get just as much pleasure out of it as you do!)
We look forward to feeding you soon
Helen x
