Born in Redruth, Cornwall, Tom Brown made his name mastering seafood under Rick Stein and Nathan Outlaw. At the St Enodoc Hotel in Rock, he rose swiftly through the ranks to Head Chef before moving to London to lead Outlaw’s at The Capital in Knightsbridge, where he retained its Michelin star. In 2018, he launched Cornerstone in Hackney Wick, a restaurant that quickly became one of London’s most celebrated destinations for modern British seafood. After six acclaimed years, Cornerstone closed its doors in June 2024, marking the end of an era and the beginning of a new chapter.
In 2025, Brown returned to The Capital, this time with his own name above the door. His tasting menu champions sustainable British produce and a refined, ingredient-led approach that feels both elegant and grounded. At the same time, he joined forces with Brad Carter, formerly of Carters of Moseley, to open Island, a bold surf-and-turf concept housed within the Chandelier Room at Mare Street Market, King’s Cross.
Island brings together Brown’s mastery of seafood with Carter’s nose-to-tail expertise, resulting in a menu that’s expressive, playful, and inventive. Expect day-boat fish paired with dry-aged cuts, small sharing plates, and imaginative combinations such as quail stuffed with prawn paella or the signature Island Mixed Grill. The interiors are theatrical yet intimate, mismatched chandeliers, semi-industrial charm, and an energy that captures the creative pulse of East London.
In conversation with Tom Brown for The Luxe Resident, we discuss his journey so far, the vision behind Island, and what continues to inspire him as a chef.
Your culinary journey began in Cornwall and led you through some of the UK’s most respected kitchens. What has been the biggest source of inspiration for your recipes over the years?
“The biggest source of inspiration for my recipes over the years is the produce, like when you see amazing ingredients coming through. You know, beautiful fish, beautiful vegetables, because, obviously, it all starts from that really. I think with seafood as well, it’s quite an easy one to get inspiration from because it’s the last sort of really wild produce that’s there. I mean, you can have all your sort of wild forage stuff, but I think there’s something quite like alien about fish and seafood because it comes from the bottom of the sea, where people can’t really be, we can’t see it. I think that’s the biggest source of inspiration, just beautiful produce.”
You’re known for your creativity and ability to elevate seafood to an art form. How do you approach developing a new dish, what sparks the first idea?
“So, it’s a lot of things. The produce is one, working with the chefs at the restaurants, they often have ideas and then we chat about them. Everyone’s creative, and bouncing all those ideas off each other, really helps. Seeing things online, the world’s a lot smaller these days with social media, so seeing people that you respect and that you follow doing stuff and you want to take bits and pieces of what they’re doing and try and create something yourself. You never want to just rip anyone off, but like drawing inspiration from other people doing well.”
After working under chefs like Nathan Outlaw, how have those experiences influenced your own cooking style and leadership in the kitchen?
“Working with the chefs you work with when you’re young really influences how you turn out. It’s very much a nurture over nature environment I would say. So, having worked with Nathan, who’s like, one of the most lovely, sound people you could ever meet, I mean, in six years working for him, I never heard him raise his voice, I still haven’t. So you know, having people that have that great temperament and that really want people that work for them to go off and do well. That’s something that I really want to do, now that I’m getting into the later stages of my career, where I’m at the the point where I’ve got people working under me. I really want them to go off and do well and force their own careers and you know, that’s going to be a really proud moment, seeing them do well.”
If you had to choose just one meal, comforting, nostalgic, or just a personal favourite, what would it be and why?
“I’d go for three courses. If I could choose anything, it would be a dozen really, really good oysters, Carlingford. No messing about with them, not like what I do haha, just like a really good mignonette, a bit of green Tabasco and that’s it. Then for the main course, I’d have a really, really fresh Lobster, just gently grilled, cooked perfectly with loads of garlic butter, some baby gem lettuce, some chips and mayo. That’s it, simple man haha. And then, lemon tart for dessert. That’s it, that would be my meal.”
And how about your guilty pleasure snack, something you’d never serve in the restaurant but always have at home?
“My guilty pleasure snack is anything cheese, like it’s disgusting how much I’m just willing to just eat a big lump of cheese. So if I’ve got a bit of Cathedral City in the fridge I’ll have that. I love a dairylea dunker, baby bell, yeah, just anything cheese, really.”
Looking ahead, what are your biggest goals or ambitions for the next five years, culinary, personal, or business-wise?
“I just honestly think it’s having busy successful restaurants. I think we’re in such a rough time in the industry that five years is quite a scary thought, with how the world’s shaping up. So not to be too depressing but yeah, I just want the places that I’ve got, to be nice, busy, buzzy places with teams that are really happy and having chefs that feel inspired by working with me.”
Tom Brown today sits at an intriguing point in his career, one that bridges tradition and innovation, precision and personality. His return to The Capital celebrates heritage and discipline, while Island embodies curiosity and creative freedom. Both reflect a chef who continues to evolve without losing sight of his roots.
For Brown, the story has always been about more than food, it’s about movement, growth, and staying true to an instinctive sense of craft. I’m very much looking forward to seeing how Island develops over the coming seasons, and where his next chapter takes him.
Photography by John Carey
The Luxe Resident 