1 Michelin Star Chefs: Peter Eaton, executive chef, The Woodspeen

Peter Eaton is the Executive  chef  at one Michelin-starred restaurant the Woodspeen in newbury, Berkshire.

Peter Eaton grew up in Chew Valley and now lives in Tilehurst, Reading with his wife and two children.

Biography

Peter studied catering and hospitality in the late 90s before joining Le manoir Aux Quat'Saisons as a demi chef de partie in 2000. He worked his way up to a senior sous-chef position before leaving in 2005 to become the head chef at The Vineyard at Stockcross. 

Consecutive roles saw Peter at the helm at Coworth Park, The Feathered Nest Inn and The Quince Tree, before  joining The Woodspeen when it opened in 2014.

He took over as executive chef in 2020, and now oversees the entire culinary operation at The Woodspeen, including the cookery school.

The restaurant and the food

The Woodspeen is a Michelin-starred restaurant and cookery school, opened by John Campbell in partnership with and now owned by Westbury Street Holdings (WSH) chair Alastair Storey.

Peter worked at The Woodspeen from pre-opening and the restaurant earned a Michelin star within the first year of trading, making it a new entry in The Michelin Guide for Great Britain and Ireland 2016.

The Woodspeen sits in a restored 19th century farmhouse in the West Berkshire countryside, and, as Michelin describes it, has a contemporary feel, "courtesy of its bright wood and glass extension which comes with a thatched roof, a vaulted larch ceiling and modern Scandic styling."

Its menus are hyper-seasonal and rely on the use of local, foraged and homegrown ingredients, with dishes such as roasted monkfish, Woodspeen black pudding, curried cauliflower, orange and vanilla poached quince; local venison pave, celeriac puree, thyme potato terrine, red cabbage, blackberries, red wine sauce; caramelised white chocolate cremeux, fresh black figs lime dressing, fig leaf meringue and ice cream.

The restaurant has its own vegetable garden, which also provisions the successful and state of the art the cookery school, under the culinary wings of Peter Eaton.

In December 2020, founder John Campbell sold his shares in the restaurant and cookery school in order to explore other opportunities.

The Woodspeen Cookery School

The Woodspeen Cookery School, is part of The Woodspeen Culinary experience, on the same site as the restaurant. It was opened in 2014 by John. The school offers guests the opportunity to learn culinary skills from either Peter Eaton or one of the restaurants top chefs. 

The courses run all throughout the week including weekends and evenings. Much like the restaurant, the school uses fresh local seasonal ingredients, much of which is grown on site.