Mark Poynton

Mark Poynton is one of the UK's leading young chefs and is Chef Patron of the award-winning Alimentum restaurant in Cambridge. Within a year of arriving at Alimentum and taking the head chef position, the restaurant gained three AA rosettes. Two of Mark's regular customers were so impressed with his cooking that they invested in the business and he took over Alimentum in 2010, becoming Chef- Patron. In 2011 the restaurant was named one of the `Top 100 UK Restaurants' in the National Restaurant Awards. Mark entered the world of hospitality at the tender age of 15 when a friend's mother got him a job as a part time waiter at the Queen Hotel in Chester. During his time there he became fascinated by the workings of the kitchen. After just six months as a waiter he persuaded the hotel's executive chef, Ian McDowall, that he was serious about cooking and his career behind the stoves began.