Where the Chefs Eat: Ollie Templeton's favourite restaurants in the UK

Ollie Templeton, head chef and co-founder of Carousel, has an immense thirst for knowledge. So much so that, when opening his own restaurant, he didn’t want a space to showcase just his own cooking. Instead, he wanted a creative hub, a culinary carousel of sorts, where chefs from all over the world could come for a residency that would both delight customers and enable Ollie to keep learning in the kitchen, where he cooks alongside them. Having spent his formative years in Spain, he moved back to the UK when he was 15, did a stint at Moro and, when deciding to go it alone, opened his restaurant in central London with his brother Ed and two cousins, Anna and Will. From Santiago Lastra to Jeremy Chan, Victor Liong to Jess Shadbolt, Pablo Lagrange to Dimitrios Moudios, Carousel (today located on Charlotte Street) has served as a launchpad for many chefs seeking to ascertain an international reputation, many travelling from all over the world to spend just a week or two alongside Ollie.

Ollie himself can’t believe it’s been over a decade since flinging open their doors: “It’s quite wild,” he tells me, laughingly. But he still aims to deliver great chefs, every time,” having now provided a space for “over 300 chefs from 30 countries.” Carousel is, he explains, “almost like an incubator for chefs before they open their own restaurants, like Santiago [Lastra]”, for example, who did a residency at Carousel before blasting onto the British food scene with Kol back in 2020. “We basically offer a space to shine light on what chefs do and allow them to cook and do it in a really professional environment with a fully equipped kitchen and an incredible front of house team. It’s a better space for them than a chopping board and a small workbench in a small pop-up.”

Carousel welcomes top chefs to cook in the kitchen on a rotating, pop-up basis

Ollie Templeton is immensely proud of Carousel and explains that “we’re proud to be part of the stories, but it’s also great for me, personally, to be opening myself up to working with different chefs. I’ve become extraordinarily interested in Mexican food, for example, and many Mexican chefs have become very good friends of mine and have inspired me; they have led me to care about artisan Mexican products and have been super inspiring. I had a chef once who brought over 80 kilos of luggage into the UK, including grasshoppers. It was very educational for me and really inspired me to travel and discover that part of the world.”

Carousel not only continues to wow the masses with its guest chefs, but it has opened its own wine bar, too. Offering “seasonal snacks and small plates,” alongside some excellent wines, of course, it’s fast becoming a hot spot for those who love the Charlotte Street restaurant belt, and Ollie now has a long list of chefs contacting him asking for Carousel consideration. And, in February 2026, Ollie and his brother Ed will be opening Cometa, a Mexican seafood restaurant, also in Fitzrovia. Cometa, (which means comet in Spanish), will utilise the British seafood they already get from their Carousel suppliers to offer up local fish with Mexican flavours. When not in the kitchen, Ollie heads up and down the country looking for collaborations, which has opened up some wonderful culinary doors for him and, as such, he has picked five UK restaurants that delighted him on his travels, all of which have either collaborated with Carousel or will be doing so in the not-too-distant future.

Barley cake with malted barley ice cream and custard at Higher Ground

Higher Ground, Manchester

I knew Higher Ground was going to be good. The founder, Dan [Barber], and I talked for a while about collaborating at Carousel. As well as Higher Ground, the team have their wine bar, Flawd, and also Cinderwood Market Garden, where they grow all the vegetables served in the restaurant. You’ll find a really mixed bag of people here from all over the country, as well as lots of locals, too. The sommelier really laid it on with wine, so it was a great place to be. The menu changes pretty much every day. It’s à la carte, but there’s an option to sit back and let the chefs take care of your order, so I went for lunch and ate what they gave me. The menu is extraordinarily good value and allows them to showcase the produce they are growing. Dan is incentivised not to waste anything and to make sure everything is utilised. I had three cuts of pork: the belly, loin and shoulder with split beans. The standout for me was the dessert, though: barley cake with malted barley ice cream and custard.

Pudding at Where The Light Gets In

Asparagus and egg yolk, Where The Light Gets In

Where The Light Gets In, Stockport

I had dinner here, following lunch at Higher Ground. It has a beautiful name and a beautiful space, with a fantastic guy [founder Sam Buckley] behind it. Sam has become a really good friend. He came to Carousel for two weeks; we try to be super organised, try and stay ahead, and Sam’s approach to food is insanely hands-on, but it’s also what I would call organised chaos. It was really refreshing working with him, though, and to see that not everything needs to be super organised. His residency was very successful. Sometimes we’re worried about booking people for two weeks, but he showed up, everyone was blown away by what he was doing, and word of mouth spread. One of the most incredible things – my takeaway from eating at the restaurant – was the sink in the loo. I asked Sam about it and, of course, he made it. It was two pieces of varnished oak creating a deep V shape, so it didn’t really look like a sink, but it was beautiful; it’s details like that which I love and tend to remember. Where The Light Gets In now has a green Michelin star, so it isn’t just locals from Manchester and nearby Stockport that come here anymore. Where The Light Gets In only offered a set menu when I went, but the standout dish for me was a curry. Actually, I think the perception of that restaurant’s menu is that it’s strictly British, but it’s actually a celebration of the whole team and the diversity in Sam’s kitchen. He has land on top of what’s basically a shopping mall, where they grow their own herbs, including ginger, lemongrass, and chillies. The curry was so good and really spicy, really salty, sour, and sweet, all the things you want with lots of produce grown by Sam on that rooftop.

Dishes at Wilsons in Bristol spotlight the team's homegrown produce

Wilsons, Bristol

We had co-founder of Wilson’s, Jan [Ostle] cooking with us, and we’ve done two events with him in Bristol. I guess Wilson’s is quite similar to Higher Ground in some respects. It’s all homegrown food from the allotment, and he brings tons of herbs to work every day. It’s a great way of using the glut of things. It’s a bistro with large windows that look out into the street – those tables are always lovely if you can get one. Jan gets this excellent venison and, again, utilises everything. The main course will change from day to day, but the flavours will stay the same. The cooking method will change depending on what cut he is working with, which is a style of cooking that I really like.

The intimate dining space at Yellowhammer

Yellowhammer, Stockport

Yellowhammer also belongs to Sam Buckley [of Where the Light Gets In], but it’s a bakery and pottery shop, so very different to the restaurant. It’s literally around the corner. During the day, they use the space to display the pastries, bread, and sandwiches they make, and then, at night, they clear everything away and serve up very tasty small dishes. It’s simple stuff, but brilliantly done. They have a great wine list, too. Then, when you walk to the back of the bakery bit, they have bread ovens and stuff like that, but you go through that, and you’re into a studio with kilns and big pottery wheels. The walls are all lined with ceramics, and they do workshops, so you can book in for one of those if you have the time. The place is absolutely covered in people’s work drying from previous classes. I had an egg mayo sandwich, which was insanely tasty. They make their own bread, and for the sandwich, it was focaccia-shaped but with the texture of a baguette, so it was really thin, light, and just delicious. It’s all fairly simple food, but it’s done really well. I went for wine one evening and then back again the next morning, and it was interesting to see how the vibe is very different at different times of day.

Sargasso

Sargasso, Margate

I’ve been to Sargasso quite a few times now, and I love it. It’s just fantastic, though the food they serve tends to change depending on who is in the kitchen. It seems to be a mixture of British and French food, and it’s all really fresh. The team get their fish right from the pier. It’s a big pull for people just wanting good drinks because it’s technically a wine bar with food, and I’d say it’s very popular amongst the locals. However, Margate is growing in stature as a destination, so maybe a mix of locals and non-locals these days. We always try to get a table right by a window, but when it’s warm and sunny, there are a few tables outside, so try and get one of those if you’re there in the summer. I had lemon sole last time I went, with muscles and capers, so it was a really classic dish. And oysters, of course.

Carousel, 19-23 Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia, W1; carousel-london.com