Glynn Purnell

Glynn Purnell (born January 1975) and he calls himself the "Yummy Brummie". His father worked in a factory, and his mother was a dinner lady. One of four children, when he was young he used to cook for his younger brother and sister, feeding them beans on toast with curry powder and chopped onions. His first experience working in a kitchen was when he did work experience at the Metropole Hotel at Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre at the age of 14; when he left school, he returned there for a six-year apprenticeship. While there he worked on placements with other notable chefs including Gordon Ramsay and Gary Rhodes, and itself won the AA Restaurant of the Year award in September of the same year. The restaurant also won the Square Meal Best Restaurant of the Year Award in 2012.

In August 2010 it was announced that Purnell would be opening a second restaurant, The Asquith, an "ambitious, neighbourhood restaurant", in the premises of the former Jessica's in Edgbaston. The Asquith closed in April 2011 due to a dispute with the building's landlord, and in 2015 the building was converted to residential use. Purnell subsequently opened The Mount by Glynn Purnell, a gastropub in Henley-in-Arden, and Plates by Purnell's, a tapas restaurant, in Birmingham.

Purnell's closed in October 2024 due to reduced bookings, leading to complaints about worthless vouchers.

In December 2025, Glynn Purnell opened a new restaurant in Birmingham, Trillium Restaurant , in collaboration with Phil Innes from Loki Wine , a local wine merchant. . Purnell leads the kitchen as Chef Patron, supported by a team headed by Head Chef Rob Palmer, Sous Chef Andrew Kay, and Junior Sous Chef Morgan Williams.

The restaurant offers refined cuisine in a relaxed, contemporary format, with sharing-style dishes providing an alternative to traditional tasting menus, with wine as a central component of the dining experience.

Trillium has received positive reviews from critics, including The Guardian and Coravin, which awarded the restaurant two glasses.

The Mount by Glynn Purnell closed following a final service on 15 March 2026, with industry reports citing rising running costs, including food prices and energy bills, as making the site unviable.

Television Purnell is a regular presenter and chef on the BBC show Saturday Kitchen. He has also appeared as judge on Come Dine With Me - Champion of Champions, and featured on Secret Kitchen and Great British Menu. In 2017, he helmed 40 episodes of My Kitchen Rules for its third series.

Books Purnell's 2014 Cracking Yolks & Pig Tales combines recipes with personal reminiscences, and was followed by two further cookery books, Rib Ticklers and Choux-ins (2016) and A Purnell's Journey: There and Back Again (2020). He has also published two children's books, The Magical Adventures of Whoops the Wonder Dog (2018) and Arnold the Alpaca (2021).

Personal life Purnell has three children.