Mark Sargeant

Mark Sargeant (born August 1973) is an English chef and restaurateur from Larkfield, Kent.

Early life Born in Kent, Sargeant grew up in Larkfield, Kent and attended Oakwood Park Grammar School in Maidstone. From an early age, Sargeant's interest in food and cooking grew strongly, leading to his first work experience cooking in the kitchens of the Larkfield Priory Hotel in 1988.

Career Having graduated from West Kent College in 1991, Sargeant landed his first professional job at Boodle's Gentleman's Club in St James, London working with Keith Podmore in 1991. During his early years as a professional chef, Sargeant also worked at several respected restaurants including the role of chef de partie at Read's Restaurant in Faversham. In 1994, Sargeant took up a position at Le Souffle Restaurant at the Hyde Park Hotel for 18 months where he then moved onto Oliver Peyton's Coast restaurant in 1996. Within the same year, Sargeant was awarded 'Young Chef of the Year'.

Sargeant first worked with Gordon Ramsay at Aubergine in 1997 before spending three years as sous-chef at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in Chelsea from 1998 to 2001,

He also oversaw the openings of the Gordon Ramsay Holdings pubs including The Narrow, The Warrington, The Devonshire and The Foxtrot Oscar. Throughout his time with Gordon Ramsay, Sargeant was responsible for all of his media activities and co-authored his 12 books, wrote regular columns for the Times Magazine, Olive and BBC Good Food magazines, as well as assisting with the production of his television work both in the UK and abroad. After 13 years working under Ramsay, Sargeant resigned in November 2009 and joined The Swan Collection with The Swan in West Malling and The Swan at The Globe as Creative Director. June 2011, Sargeant opened his first two solo projects in the coastal town of Folkestone in Kent, Rocksalt Restaurant and The Smokehouse Fish and Chips, where he first became a restaurateur. The opening of the two restaurants became part of the Regeneration Plan for Folkestone, and quickly became the hot spot destination for tourists and foodies alike. Rocksalt has since won a string of awards including 84th best restaurant in the Restaurant Magazine top 100 uk restaurants 2013, Best Restaurant in Kent 2014, 5th best restaurant by the sea in the Times magazine, 2 AA Rosettes and 4 AA stars for Rocksalt Rooms.

Sargeant's first cookbook was published in October 2011 "My Kind of Cooking" and is published by Quercus.

Sargeant was later approached in 2012 to create exclusive dishes for Royal Ascot where he developed five new dishes for the event.

ITV produced flagship Saturday morning cookery show ‘Saturday Cookbook’ which premiered on 14 April 2012, presented by Sargeant and Nadia Sawalha.

In 2013, Sargeant became Chef Director of Plum and Spilt Milk, located within the Great Northern Hotel. Sargeant also became involved with Oxwell & Co in Singapore, where he became Chef Director.

Sargeant became the Chef Director at The Strand Dining Rooms in 2015, helping to devise a brand new menu for the restaurant.

Sargeant's first establishment The Duke William a country pub situated in Ickham, Kent, was launched early 2015. Shortly after, Rooms at The Duke William opened to the public after a full refurbishment in the spring 2015.

June 2015 saw Sargeant open Morden & Lea his first central London restaurant in Soho, serving a variety of modern and contemporary British dishes.

In February 2016, after an amicable agreement, Sargeant parted ways with Morden & Lea.

In 2021, Sargeant decided to leave the Rocksalt Group and sold his minor stake (Rocksalt Restaurant and bar, The Smokehouse, The Wife of Bath, The Duke William Pub)

In August 2022, Sargeant opened his first solo restaurant as Chef Patron at the self-named Brasserie MS in Clifton Gardens, Folkestone. Art-deco in style with a classic French menu, Sargeant is taking inspiration from the respected French chefs of the 90s and re-imagining these ideas for the modern day, in a relaxed and comfortable setting. The Brasserie MS achieved 2AA rosettes within ten weeks of opening.

Awards Young Chef of the Year - 1996 Chef of the Year - 2002

Restaurants

Current restaurants

Restaurant Location Position Plum & Spilt Milk Great Northern Hotel, London, England Chef Director GNH Bar Great Northern Hotel, London, England Chef Director KIOSK King's Cross station, London, England Chef Director

Previous restaurants

Restaurant Location Position The Wife of Bath Wye, Kent, England Chef Director The Waterleaf Restaurant Reynolds Retreat, Borough Green, Kent, England Chef Director Morden & Lea London, England Chef Director The Strand Dining Rooms London, England Chef Director Oxwell & Co Singapore Chef Director Canteen London Consultant Chef The Swan at The Globe Theatre Globe Theatre, London Creative Director The Swan West Malling, Kent, England Creative Director Foxtrot Oscar Chelsea, London Chef de Cuisine The Warrington Maida Vale, London Executive Chef The Devonshire Chiswick, London Executive Chef The Narrow Limehouse, London Executive Chef Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's Claridge's Hotel, London Chef de Cuisine Restaurant Gordon Ramsay Claridge's Hotel, London Sous Chef Aubergine Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, London Sous Chef Oliver Peyton's Coast Restaurant Mayfair London Sous Chef Chez Nico Park Lane, London Sous Chef Le Souffle Restaurant Intercontinental Hotel, Hyde Park Corner, LondonJunior Sous Chef Read's Restaurant Faversham, Kent Chef de Partie Boodle's Gentleman's Club St James, London Sous CheRocksalt Restaurant & BarFolkestone, Kent, EnglandChef DirectorSmokehouse Fish & ChipsFolkestone, Kent, EnglandChef DirectorThe Duke WilliamIckham, Kent, EnglandChef DirectorThe Radnor ArmsFolkestone, Kent, EnglandChef DirectorThe WoolpackWarehorne, Kent, EnglandChef DirectorThe Five BellsBrabourne, Kent, EnglandChef Director

Television appearances Boiling Point (5-part documentary) (Channel 4, 1998) Beyond Boiling Point (6-part documentary) (Channel 4, 2000) Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares (Channel 4, 2004–present) Hell's Kitchen (UK) (ITV, 2004) The F Word (Channel 4, 2005–2010) Great British Menu (BBC Two, 2009), representing London and South East, losing to Tristan Welch in heats This Morning (ITV,2013) Cooks Questions' (Channel 4,2014) Saturday Kitchen (BBC One, 2005–present) Saturday Cookbook (ITV, 2012) Beat the chef (channel 4),(2019–present)

Sexual assault civil case

In May 2022, a jury in Tarrant County, Texas, found that Sargeant had sexually assaulted American Airlines flight attendant Kimberly Goesling during a work trip to Germany in 2018. The jury was specifically asked whether Sargeant had intentionally or knowingly caused sexual penetration without Goesling's consent, and answered "yes".

The finding arose from Goesling's civil litigation against American Airlines. The jury found that American Airlines was not liable for the assault.

In October 2023, the Texas Second Court of Appeals, in its opinion affirming the trial court's judgment, recorded that the jury had found Sargeant sexually assaulted Goesling and stated that the finding was unchallenged.