British born Luke Dale-Roberts is a chef with enviable credentials. He trained at Baur Au Lac Hotel in Zurich, Switzerland- at the time recognised as one of the top five hotels in the world, learned from Roux Brothers’ protégé Kevin Hopgood and worked at Soho House Media Club as Executive Sous Chef where he cooked for ‘the rich and famous’, including regular diners, film and pop stars Madonna, Kevin Spacey, Kylie Minogue and Oasis.
January 2000 saw Luke taking up his first position as Executive Chef, working for the Accor Hotel Group where he opened The Loft- a modern, global signature restaurant. After two years, the Accor Group offered him the opportunity to relocate to Singapore as Mission Executive Chef to open its signature concept restaurant in Asia, The Square. Next, he accepted a consulting contract with the Sofitel Hotel in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, before moving to Seoul, Korea for the Accor Group once again where he developed a Modern French Bistro. Here he also launched Shune a leading modern Japanese dining concept, working with top Japanese chefs from the famous Shunju group in Tokyo to present a menu of Traditional Japanese, and Modern Japanese ‘Nobu’ style dishes. His four and a half year stint in the Orient concluded in 2006 at the Sofitel Hotel in Manila, Philippines where, as Executive Chef, he launched Spiral, a restaurant incorporating Indian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Mediterranean sections– voted ‘Best Interactive Dining Experience’ in the Philippines.
On the heels of this success, Luke was appointed as Executive Chef of La Colombe in November 2006 and made his mark at this award-winning restaurant by securing the 2008 Prudential Eat Out Chef of the Year and Restaurant of the Year award, achieving the highest three star rating in both the 2009 and 2010 issues of the acclaimed Rossouw’s Restaurants guide and winning the 2009 Prudential Eat Out Restaurant of the Year award. La Colombe also reached new heights recently when it achieved an impressive 12th place in the San Pellegrino 50 Best Restaurants of the World Awards 2010 and thereby also clinched the Acqua Panna Best Restaurant in Africa and Middle East Award.
Luke’s culinary creations are for the discerning diner in search of imagination and superb technique. He starts with the thought that, “A dish has to be understandable and have bold flavours. From that I build it and add textures and presentation. I’m always tweaking and refining to find a dish’s full potential. My mantra is ‘taste, taste, taste!’”
In September 2010 Luke took on an exciting new role as culinary consultant to La Colombe restaurant and his latest venture is the newly-opened restaurant, The Test Kitchen located in The Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock.