Former Midsummer House chef buys family pie restaurant

Browns Pie Shop opened its doors in 1968 and offers a range of gourmet pies alongside an a la carte menu to dine-in or takeaway.

The Great British Menu finalist worked in the restaurant as a kitchen porter aged 12, and his parents bought the site from its previous owners in 2005. 

Now Gill has taken it on with a £50,000 loan from Lloyds Bank.

The chef trained at Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons before going on to work for Daniel Clifford at Midsummer House in Cambridge and later as head chef at The Flitch of Bacon in Essex.

“Browns Pie Shop is not only a successful business but has a lot of heritage, both locally and to my family,” said Gill.

“After spending years travelling around the country to develop my culinary skills, I wanted to return to the place that inspired me to follow a career as a professional chef in the first place.”

Gill made it to the finals of Great British Menu in 2016.