With a wealth of experience working in kitchens across the world, the executive chef for restaurants at Searcys, Thomas Piat, brings his rich, classical and international culinary expertise to the company’s growing portfolio of brasseries and Champagne bars.
Having graduated with a degree in culinary arts from the prestigious Ecole Hôtelière de Paris in 2005, Piat’s career in hospitality spans 20 years. He has worked in some of the top international establishments, from the Mandarin Oriental in London, to Jòia with Hélène Darroze in Paris, and spent 10 years in New York and London with chef Daniel Boulud.
Prior to joining Searcys, he spent three years across the pond in Florida, working as a private chef in Miami before becoming the executive chef of Palm Beach members’ club, Carriage House.
Working across Searcys’ collection of nine restaurants and bars, Piat has launched autumn menus for the Searcys Brasserie at St Pancras, focusing on the best of British ingredients. With focus on seasons, dishes in a true brasserie style include Shetland mussels mariniere; slow-cooked porchetta with celeriac; seared seabream fillet with charred broccolini; 48-day dry-aged Lake District sirloin steak; and Cauliflower steak with curry coconut yogurt, which are available on the all-day dining menus, alongside a curated Champagne and English Sparkling wine list. Piat will also lead on the menu concepts for Searcys upcoming openings, including the new Surveyors House in Westminster, launched at the end of October.
One of the UK’s oldest British caterers, Searcys is in residence at unique, historical venues across the UK including The Pump Room at the Roman Baths, The Gherkin, St Pancras International and Battersea Power Station. With over 175 years’ experience in delivering high quality events and experiences, Searcys prides itself on offering a taste of indulgence, serving fresh, seasonal dishes that focus on sustainability, alongside extensive Champagne and wine lists, paired with world-class service.
We caught up with Thomas to learn more about his career highlights, his plans for Searcys and where you’ll find him on days off.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I started my career in Paris as a young man, working as a kitchen porter for a famous chef called Stephane Jego. The restaurant was called L’ami Jean. I did a year and a half at L’ami Jean, moving from the kitchen to prep, to service, and it made me love not just cooking, but hospitality. I was welcoming guests into a beautiful environment and allowing them to try beautiful food with their friends.
Stephane sent me to New York to work with chef Daniel Boulud, another amazing French chef and friend of Stephane. I worked with Daniel for 10 years; three years in New York, and seven years at Bar Boulud in the Mandarin Oriental in Knightsbridge. Daniel was a mentor of mine and working at Bar Boulud was amazing, but I went back to Paris for a year and opened a restaurant called Jòia par Hélène Darroze. Working for Helene Darroze was an incredible experience, but Paris was not quite right for me, so I came back to London. I started doing work with D&D, and I opened the venue 14 Hills, just before Covid.
When I came back to London in 2023, I was looking for the right opportunity to settle back in and got into contact with Searcys. I met incredible people, people who I wanted to work for and work with. Searcys has incredible spaces and concepts, and the people who take care of the company are amazing. Paul Jackson, the MD of Searcys, is a great person to work with daily and an amazing mentor. It was important for me to continue my career path with interesting projects moving forward.
What, or who, inspired you to become a chef?
I went to a culinary school in Paris, Ecole Hôtelière de PARIS – CFA Médéric, during my education I spent time in a few different establishments and was lucky to find amazing chefs and people to mentor me. My experience with Stephane Jego was important in my career, along with all the years working for Daniel Boulud and his team in New York and London. My mother’s family were butchers and fishermen, and my grandma, Madelaine, was a big chef herself. I always cooked with my grandma, and my favourite dish to cook with her was a traditional Pot-au-Feu.
What are your most important considerations when crafting your menu for Searcys?
Searcys has a lot of different concepts, clients and expectations. What is interesting and challenging at the same time is creating menus for different locations and seasons. We always focus on getting the right produce at the right time of year, as this is more sustainable. As well as sustainability and seasonality, the brief and concept of every site we have is also taken into consideration.
Do any of your personal preferences affect the menu?
I come from a background of old-school cooking, I like tradition, not just French cooking because I’m French. That’s why it is important to understand what every client wants, and if you do something classic it needs to be done well. Sometimes ‘classic’ is not the easiest thing to achieve, you have to go through some old-school recipes. Chefs nowadays are losing the traditional cooking techniques and just following recipes.
What do you think is the USP of Searcys?
I would say incredible heritage and amazing locations, with a huge focus on hospitality, service, and guest experience.
What would you highlight as your biggest achievement and most difficult challenge in your career?
The highlight of my career was moving out of my hometown and across the world to New York. I didn’t speak English when I arrived in New York, I had to learn the language, which is another achievement of mine. My biggest challenge was to mix with different nationalities and start working within a people-orientated industry. If you don’t communicate with people it can make work difficult. The challenge is to become part of an international team and travel the world.
What would you be doing if you weren’t a chef?
I think I would be an architect or landscaper.
When you’re not in the kitchen where can you be found?
With my wife, my family, and my dog.
Where is your favourite place to dine?
My favourite places to eat in London are Trinity, Parlour by Jesse Dunford, Fallow and Perilla.
What is your favourite dish to cook at home?
A good piece of meat, with all the trimmings.
What is your favourite city or destination for food?
I would say South-West of France, Basque country because of the different culture. It’s quite international with influences from the Spanish and French, it also has amazing fresh produce.
What is the most overhyped food trend?
Plant-based meat alternatives should be viewed as a new way of eating, rather than a food trend. While I respect plant-based lifestyles, they shouldn’t be driven solely by trends. Instead of positioning these foods as part of trending culture, we should recognise their value.
What do your future plans entail?
As Searcys is a well-loved brand, we all have the responsibility of keeping the tradition alive, but with a modern twist. We also want to keep people motivated in what we are doing, this can be done by bringing the right chefs into the business to continue the success into the future.
What is your favourite Searcys dish you have created?
My favourite Searcys dish is the ‘Rum baba’ complemented by sweet clementines and a silky crème diplomat, it’s the ultimate autumn indulgence.
