Ben Tish moves to chef consultant role at Cubitt House

Ben Tish is stepping down as chef director of London pub group Cubitt House after five years in the job. He will be remaining at the group, moving into a chef consultant role, where he will continue to shape the group's food direction and support its new openings.

The change means Ben, who has overseen the food across the Young's-owned group's eight pubs, will also be free to take on projects outside Cubitt House.

Ben said: "I'm incredibly proud of what we've built at Cubitt House and this next chapter allows me to continue shaping its food direction, while also giving me the opportunity to work on projects outside the group.

"Our food philosophy remains unchanged and I'm looking forward to continuing to work with our chefs and teams across the pubs, as well as supporting our new openings and events."

What the new role involves

Cubitt House said on the move: “Ben has played an important role in establishing Cubitt House’s reputation for produce-led cooking, championing outstanding British producers, suppliers and farmers. This philosophy will remain firmly at the heart of Cubitt House’s food vision.

"In his new role, Ben will continue to work closely with the head chefs and kitchen teams across the pubs. He will also remain an ambassador for the group, supporting key events, collaborations and marketing activity.”

The Cubitt House estate covers The Alfred Tennyson, The Orange and The Thomas Cubitt in Belgravia, The Barley Mow in Mayfair, The Builders Arms in Chelsea, The Coach Makers Arms and The Grazing Goat in Marylebone, and The Princess Royal in Notting Hill.

The group also runs a farm-to-pub partnership with Nevill Holt Estate in Leicestershire, bringing heritage breed meat to its London menus.

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Five years at Cubitt House

The Staff Canteen reported on Ben's appointment in October 2021, when he joined as part of a new executive team brought in to refurbish the group's six existing sites and drive its expansion. Sam and Georgie Pearman joined as directors and co-chairs, with Montana Fogg founders Seb Fogg and Laura Montana coming in as managing director and openings director.

At the time, Cubitt House said Ben would give each pub its own food identity, with some taking inspiration from his Mediterranean background and others serving more classic chophouse and pub fare.

The group has since grown to eight pubs with the addition of The Builders Arms and The Barley Mow, and was named Food-led Pub Group of the Year at Restaurant magazine's R200 Awards in 2025.

A year of change for the group

The move caps a year of change at Cubitt House. In April 2026, the major pub operator Young's agreed to buy the business in a deal worth around £30million. The move saw Young’s add Cubitt House’s eight pubs, plus a ninth Belgravia site under development, to the Young's estate.

Sam and Georgie then stepped down as directors and co-chairs in June to focus on their Cotswolds hospitality group, Country Creatures.

That ninth site is The Duke of Connaught on Eccleston Street, a former post office being turned into a pub with a first floor restaurant and ten bedrooms. It is planned to open in 2027, and supporting new openings is part of Ben's consultant brief.

From Skegness to Sicilia

Born in Skegness, Ben began working in restaurants in the 1990s, first at The Ritz, then with fellow Skegness native Jason Atherton and Stephen Terry at Coast and Frith Street. His first head chef role came at Al Duca in 2000 at the turn of the millennium.

Time at the Crinan Hotel followed, before Ben went on to spend more than a decade as chef director and partner of Salt Yard Group, growing it to five acclaimed restaurants serving modern Spanish and Italian small plates.

In 2018, he became culinary director at The Stafford London, and in 2019 he opened Sicilian-inspired Norma on Charlotte Street in Fitzrovia. He stepped down from The Stafford in October 2021, shortly before taking up the Cubitt House role.

Ben is also a prolific cookbook author, with titles including Salt Yard: Food & Wine, Grill Smoke BBQ, Moorish, Sicilia and, most recently, Mediterra. Moorish was named cookbook of the year by The Times Magazine.

You can keep up with the latest chef moves and appointments in our rolling big chef moves 2026 round-up.