Steven Edwards

The brand-new restaurant by MasterChef: The Professionals winner Steven Edwards launched in March at Richmond’s stylish riverside hotel Bingham Riverhouse, but it was a mere 3 weeks before the lockdown shutters came crashing down. Now, the chef is back with a bang.  

After a lockdown spent looking after his two children aged 7 and 9, Steven and his team reopened the riverside restaurant at the beginning of July with a ‘Spaced Out’ – a socially distanced tasting menu experience, where safety is a priority. Guests’ temperatures are taken on arrival and a health form must be completed in advance, waiting staff wear visors, tables are carefully spaced out and three layers of state-of-the-art cleaning technology have been implemented. The food, however, is less serious.

“The menu is designed to be fun and nostalgic, which is probably more important than ever” Steven explains.  

“One of the best dishes is duck egg, smoked sweetcorn, crispy onions and chive oil - it’s basically a posh dippy egg and soldiers. I try and keep my food very simple, and I like to use classic flavour combinations in a modern way. Michel Roux Jnr once said to me; ‘Steve, just focus on simplicity, let the ingredients do the talking.’

Steven, 34, started cooking professionally aged just 16, and went on to win the 6th series of MasterChef: The Professionals in 2013, making him one of the competition’s youngest ever winners at the age of 26.

Prior to his TV victory, he trained with some of the country’s leading chefs including Raymond Blanc, Andrew McNaughton and Chris Wheeler before working his way up to head chef at the five-star South Lodge Hotel in Sussex. He then opened his very own restaurant, Etch in Hove, before Bingham Riverhouse came calling last year.

“I never wanted a restaurant where it’s all white tablecloths and you have to wear a dinner jacket. The standards are high at the Bingham, but there’s no pretentious atmosphere. I want it to feel like I am welcoming people into my own home.”

Steven’s ‘Spaced Out’ menu is priced at £55 for a 5-course lunch, or £75 for a 6-course dinner. Ingredients are fresh, seasonal and British, and sourced locally, where possible.

“I am against charging money just for the sake of it – the menu needs to be worthy of the cost. We can only have 30 guests at the moment, so it feels really exclusive, and you have the table for as long as you want so it’s very chilled out. It’s something special to look forward to.” he explains

“When it comes to ingredients, if I can get something locally that meets my high standards, then I will. We work with a bakery and a dairy in Richmond and lots of producers in Surrey. We’re also hoping to source venison from Richmond Park in the winter. We use local honey at the moment but we’re also exploring putting beehives on the roof at the Bingham. Nowhere near the hotel rooms though!”

Following the relaunch of the restaurant, the Bingham’s stylish bar reopened in August, gourmet picnics can now be pre-ordered and enjoyed in the riverside garden, and the plan is to also introduce an a la carte menu in September.

“We’re always looking 6 weeks ahead, but the government seems to release info two days ahead! So we can only plan as best we can, but we want to keep adding to the experience. At the moment, Bingham Riverhouse feels like a little secret in Richmond, but I want to put it on the map.”

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Steven Edwards at Bingham Riverhouse, 61-63 Petersham Road, TW10 6UT. binghamriverhouse.com.

Published in the September 2020 issues of The Richmond and Barnes Magazines, The Elmbridge and Kingston Magazines, The Guildford, Farnham and Woking Magazines and The Surrey Downs Magazine, and online at Essential Surrey and SW London.