Ben works on a wide array of exciting food related projects worldwide that form PuzzleProjects, whether that is consultancy to various F&B businesses, cooking privately, creating & holding public dining events such as ’ Small Plate Sessions’ or ‘#AllGunsBlazing’ or collaborating with talented and exciting designers, artists or industry professionals.
Acclaimed London-based chef Ben Spalding runs PuzzleProjects which offers a fresh take on hospitality consultancy for all sectors, the curation and delivery of food and music events (from intimate gatherings to festivals), catering and food production for corporate, public and individual clients globally and at all levels, film, design and more.
Ben brings over fifteen years’ experience and hard-earned expertise in the hospitality industry to his role. Having trained at some of the world’s finest Michelin-starred restaurants including 28+ in Gothenburg, Per Se, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, The Ledbury, Bagatelle, The Fat Duck, Le Manoir, Vue de Monde and L’Enclume, he returned to London in 2011 and delivered his unique style of cooking with great success at restaurants including Roganic, John Salt and Aqua in the Shard, winning both personal and professional acclaim along the way. His awards include 3 AA Rosettes at Roganic, the Zagat 30 under 30 award, the ShortList Brit List, the Times 100 Most Influential People.
Wanting to break away for the stiff formality often associated with fine dining and Michelin-starred establishments, Ben created his own successful business, PuzzleProjects, and simultaneously launched several innovative dining concepts including NoRules, WorldDinners and StrippedBack, an exciting, accessible dining experience which played an integral part in the development of London’s high-end street food movement. Huge global interest saw Ben take this concept across Europe and on to the legendary music festival Coachella in Los Angeles.
In addition to delivering several hundred creative events, weddings and private dinners, 2016 saw Ben further develop his creative and operational work with hospitality businesses and brands globally, including The Common in London and Landvetter Airport Hotel in Sweden, Stones Events, Harbour & Jones, Meat Lust, Nisbets, Farmino and Mibrasa. This year he is partnering with Bang & Olufsen to refine his public dining events, exploring ways in which music, another major passion of his, can be introduced into his cooking; he is also opening a summer restaurant in The Last Days of Shoreditch from May and working on a range of international projects across Europe and Asia.
“Ben was tasked to create a series of dishes with Smirnoff limited edition flavoured vodka as a key ingredient. The dishes featuring blueberry, vanilla, apple & lime Vodka were creative, delicious but also easy enough for the media to recreate.”
