Joe Otway
Chef Director / Co-creator του Ηigherground & Flawdwine
For Joe Otway, cooking begins with nature. With the seasons, the land and an understanding of how an ingredient is grown before it ever reaches the kitchen. His deep connection to agriculture, combined with the experiences and travels that have shaped his career, has led to a philosophy where exceptional flavour, sustainability and respect for every ingredient exist as part of the same conversation.
His international experience includes two kitchens that played an important role in developing this approach: Copenhagen’s Relæ and Dan Barber’s Blue Hill at Stone Barns in New York. It was through these experiences that he further developed his perspective on sustainability and ingredient-led cooking.
In 2023, Joe launched Higher Ground in Manchester, following its beginnings as a pop-up in 2020. The bistro has featured multiple times in the National Restaurant Awards Top 50, reaching No.39 in 2026, and has retained a Michelin Bib Gourmand for three consecutive years. In 2026, it was also included in The 50 Discovery.
Joe’s relationship with ingredients, however, extends beyond the kitchen. He co-founded Cinderwood, a two-acre farm in Cheshire supplying locally grown produce to restaurants across Manchester. He is also the co-founder of Flawd, a neighbourhood wine bar celebrated for its vegetable-led cooking, and in 2025 opened Bar Shrimp, a cocktail and seafood bar.
Together, these different projects reflect a broader approach to food—from growing and sourcing ingredients to understanding how they are ultimately used in the kitchen. Seasonality and sustainability are not separate ideas within Joe’s cooking; they form the foundation upon which flavour is built.
At Gastrosophy Fest 2026, Joe Otway brings a perspective that sits at the very heart of The Value of Nourishment and Its Journey: the connection between land, producer, ingredient and kitchen, and the idea that to truly understand the value of food, we must also understand the journey it takes before reaching the plate.
