1 Michelin star chefs: Craig Johnston, Angler
Craig Johnston is head chef at Angler, the seafood restaurant on the seventh floor of South Place Hotel in the City of London, which has held a Michelin star since 2014.
Widely regarded as London's only Michelin-starred restaurant dedicated to seafood, Angler first won its star two years after opening, and has kept hold of it every year since.
Craig was appointed head chef in October 2024, succeeding Gary Foulkes.
Angler sits within The Evolv Collection, the hospitality group formerly known as D&D London.
Craig Johnston’s early career and background
Craig grew up in Maidenhead, where an early love of baking with his mother, and home economics classes at school, set him on a path into professional kitchens.
He took a summer job at Boulters Riverside Brasserie in the town, working under chef Daniel Woodhouse, and stayed for five years, progressing through the sections to sous chef.
He then took eight months out to go backpacking through South-East Asia, travelling through India, Sri Lanka and Thailand among other countries to explore different cuisines.
On his return, Craig joined The Royal Oak in Paley Street, the Michelin-starred pub restaurant, where he learned game cookery and worked up to senior sous chef, then acting head chef.
In 2017, aged 22, he won MasterChef: The Professionals, becoming the youngest chef to take the title.
His performance on the show impressed judge Marcus Wareing enough that he was offered a place in Marcus's brigade.
working for marcus wareing
Craig spent six years working at Marcus at The Berkeley in Knightsbridge, becoming head chef for the final two years of his time there.
The restaurant closed in December 2023, and Craig was appointed head chef at Angler the following October, succeeding Gary Foulkes, who had led the kitchen since 2016 and stayed on as consultant executive chef to support the handover.
Craig has described the move as "another challenge," running his own kitchen at Angler without the layers of support he had around him at The Berkeley.
At Angler, he runs a team of eight, and has built the kitchen around a calm, structured style of management rather than the shouting culture more traditionally associated with professional kitchens.
He said: "Shouting comes through frustration. If training is put into place and everyone knows what is ahead of them., then there's no excuse really to be stressed."
Cross-training across sections is a big part of that approach, giving his team a broader understanding of how the kitchen runs as a whole.
Cooking style at Angler
Angler specialises in modern British seafood, sourced from across the British Isles, from Orkney scallops and Scottish cod to Cornish monkfish and Dorset cockles.
Around 20 kilograms of fresh fish arrives at the restaurant each day.
Craig's approach is built on simplicity rather than over-complication.
He said: "Great ingredients cooked simply, but with thought."
He varies his cooking methods across the menu, roasting, steaming and barbecuing among other techniques, to keep it from feeling one-dimensional.
The restaurant's setting shapes service, too. Perched above Liverpool Street station, lunch tends to be quick for a business crowd, while dinners run at a more leisurely pace built around tasting menus.
Craig Johnston's MasterChef and Roux Scholarship wins
Having won MasterChef in 2017, Craig added another significant title in 2025, winning The Roux Scholarship at the Alain Roux Culinary School at The Waterside Inn, becoming the 41st Roux Scholar since the competition began in 1984.
He is the first chef to have won both MasterChef: The Professionals and The Roux Scholarship.
The final asked candidates to cook a dish inspired by chef Elena Arzak; Craig's dish was Wyndford wagyu shank with bone marrow, borlotti beans and Basque-style stuffed potatoes.
His prize placements took him to Ikoyi in London and Amber in Hong Kong, alongside a WSET Level 2 wine qualification.
He said: "I was a bit shocked, in all honesty. I wasn't expecting it," adding that becoming the first chef to win both competitions was "something I'm immensely proud of”.
With MasterChef, The Roux Scholarship and now a Michelin star all part of his record within a decade of turning professional, Craig's focus at Angler is on building on that run rather than resting on it.
Other Michelin Star Chefs
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