The Buxton appoints new head chef and launches new menu

Brick Lane’s bistro and wine bar with bedrooms The Buxton has announced the appointment of new head chef Oliver Sharpe. 

Sharpe’s arrival marks a new chapter for East London’s bistro, which will offer a newly devised menu serving hyper-seasonal small plates and natural wines, focusing on quality ingredients including produce from The Culpeper Family Hospitality Group’s very own urban farm in Deptford, south east London. 

The Buxton will now offer a weekly changing menu, meaning the kitchen can use the best of what is available. The bistro-style small plates will take influence from France and the Mediterranean and will include dishes such as panisse topped with whipped cod’s roe, coppa and remoulade, chicken liver parfait, and grey mullet with risotto nero and sea beet. 

Diners will albo be able to choose from puddings such as rhubarb and custard tart, chocolate bavarois with cream anglaise, or mons cheese with crackers made in-house and quince jelly. 

Embodying a modern ‘bar à vin’, The Buxton’s all-natural wine list features wines from local supplier Passione Vino, as well as Ellis Wines and Les Caves. Guests can choose from wines by the glass or bottle, or for those looking to try something a little different, there will also be a ‘Wine of the Week’ on offer. 

The Buxton will also be operating as a walk-in only moving forward, offering a more relaxed style of service. The team promises that if they are not able to find a space for guests to eat immediately, they can enjoy a glass of wine or an aperitivo on the terrace while they wait. 

A long-time chef of The Culpeper Family, Sharpe started cooking at The Buxton’s sister site, The Culpeper, back in November 2019 as chef de partie. From here, he moved to work at the Michelin-starred Brat in August 2020, and spent over two years honing his skills working across all sections of the kitchen.

In 2022, he returned to The Culpeper as sous chef, where he worked on the restaurant’s menu development before being headhunted for the opening of critically acclaimed restaurant Toklas, taking on the role of chef de partie for several months. 

After moving to Perth, Australia, where he was senior chef de partie at the Wildflower restaurant, which still held three Chef Hats, he returned to the UK, working at the four-starred Brooklands Hotel in Surrey as senior sous chef until the move back to London to join The Buxton.

Opened in 2019 by The Culpeper co-founders Nico Treguer and Gareth Roberts with a seasonal all-day menu drawing inspiration from Europe, The Buxton won the ‘Open Right’ award at the Food Made Good Awards the same year, created for businesses that have launched with sustainability built in, and was shortlisted by Le Fooding as one of the top best new bistros in the world. 

Regarding his appointment, Sharpe said: “I am thrilled to be working with The Culpeper Family again and heading up the kitchen at The Buxton. We have always shared a very similar ethos – working with world-class suppliers, using responsibly sourced produce and cooking with the seasons, so to be working at The Buxton and putting my spin on things is a huge privilege.”