After trying his hand at designing, Ben Chapman decided to take the plunge and opened a restaurant specialising in authentic Thai cuisine.

Having found inspiration in New York, Chapman quit his job and taught himself how to smoke, grill and prepare meat over wood and educated himself about Thai ingredients. Following this, he acquired some space in the Adam & Eve in Homerton, London, while the pub was being refurbished and tested the food out on the pub’s regulars. After teaching himself the basics in smoking food, he teamed up with Brian Hannon and opened the Smoking Goat in London’s Soho in 2014 to rave reviews from the likes of Giles Coren and Fay Maschler. The restaurateur is now set to open his second post called Kiln in late 2016.