1 Michelin Star Chefs: Brad Carter, chef owner, Carters of Moseley

Brad Carter is the chef owner of Carters of Moseley, a one michelin-starred restaurant in Birmingham.

• Recipes by Brad Carter
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Brad Carter fell in love with cooking when he entered a pizza competition at school, aged 11. He got his first job working as a kitchen porter at a local pub and then enrolled at University College Birmingham to study the culinary arts.

After graduating, Brad decided to broaden his culinary influences by working abroad, so he worked in fine-dining restaurants in Marseille, France and Menorca, where he was inspired by the methods, flavours and ingredients that would later influence his own unique take on modern British food.

He then worked as a chef in kitchens in London and Torquay. 

Carters of Moseley

Despite having never trained under any ‘big name’ chefs, Brad opened his own restaurant, Carters of Moseley in 2010 with financial help from an old customer of his. At just 28, Brad had never worked in a Michelin-starred kitchen.

Though Brad and his team never aimed to get a star, it received one in 2015 and has retained it ever since.

The restaurant's managing director, Holly Jackson, said an interview with The Staff Canteen “I really believe that a great meal is about more than just the food. It’s about what’s happening around you as well. If the restaurant feels stuffy, intimidating or elitist, you simply won’t be able to relax and enjoy your meal.

“So while Brad is working his magic in the kitchen, I’m at the front of the house welcoming you and making sure you’re relaxed, comfortable and have everything you need to enjoy your Carters’ experience."

Food Style

Brad’s menu celebrates the best of British produce, with dishes like chicken liver cereal - a chicken liver parfait with a savoury granola over the top.

 

Brad has a loyal band of suppliers that he sources ingredients from, who he says are the same ones he’s been working with since he opened Carters.

The menu offers a 4,6 and 8 course option depending on the day and time, which cost anywhere between £50-£90 per person, excluding wine. 

The cooking at Carters is light and modern, with an emphasis on clean flavours and seasonal ingredients.

Menus are product-driven, serving innovative dishes based on clear understanding of flavour.

The food is designed to impress through simplicity and restraint. Central to the cooking are fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables, juices, infusions and wild foods.

Butter and cream are used where necessary but not by default, and seasoning levels judicious, for a lighter style of cooking - hoped to be in keeping with many people's desire to eat more healthily.

Awards, TV and books

In 2015, Carters was named Good Food Guide Readers’ Restaurant of the Year; in 2018, it was awarded 3AA Rosettes in the AA Restaurant Guide; in the National Restaurant Awards 2021. Carters was named 45th best restaurant. It is also the recipient of a SquareMeal Silver Award, which the company says "are given to ‘excellent’ restaurants and bars that we find ourselves constantly recommending as being among the best in the area."

Since his first appearance on Saturday Kitchen in 2016, Brad has become a regular personality on television,  as well as taking part in live demonstrations at national expositions such as The Good Food Show.

In 2019, what started as a means to populate the restaurant's Instagram stories with fresh and fun content became his inaugural book, Staff: unlike many restaurants, where staff dinner tends to be "a bowl of rice and a difference sauce each day," at Carter's, the team sit down at 5pm everyday, not unlike a family would for the kind of meal most of  us would happily pay for. 

"We eat as well as the guests but in a different way, using cheaper cuts," the chef explained in an interview with The Staff Canteen, because he doesn't believe that staff should eat badly while guests eat high-quality meals.

And so, instead of product posts on their Instagram account, the team started sharing pictures and videos of them preparing staff meals and eating it. 

It proved so popular that they eventually decided to include recipes; this is where Brad had the idea for Staff. 

The first print run sold out in record time, so a second, limited edition of the book has followed,with extra recipes, extra artwork, extra photographs and extra pages: Staff - Expanded Bsides

In 2021, Brad and the team at Carters of Moseley were nominated for three TSC Awards: Front of House team of the year, Social Media Influencer - with nominations for Brad and head chef Peter Jackson - and One to Watch, again bestowed on Peter Jackson.

One star Doner

In October 2021, Brad Carter opened the first iteration of The One Star Döner Bar in Manchester’s Escape to Freight Island, a pop-up market close to Manchester Piccadilly. Borne of a concept thought up in Covid-19 lockdowns, during which the Carters team sold an array of different hampers, makeaways and takeaways, including premium kebabs using meat from the same suppliers as they use at the restaurant.

The Manchester site operates as a franchise, meaning Brad can continue to focus his attention on the Birmingham restaurant whilst providing the Freight Island team with his recipes and development expertise.

The chef envisions opening several more branches of The One Star Döner Bar in the future either in pop-up form or as standalone restaurants, as long as the location matches the concept.

Videos with Brad Carter: