Glynn Purnell (born January 1975)[1] is an Englishchef,restaurateur and television personality fromSolihull. Formerly head chef at Jessica's, he is the proprietor of The Mount by Glynn Purnell and Plates by Purnell and was until 2024 head chef at Purnell's. Both Jessica's and Purnell's were awarded aMichelin star.
Purnell was born inChelmsley Wood, a largecouncil estate in northSolihull; theBirmingham Post has described him as "undoubtably the finest chef to hail from Chelmsley Wood",[2] and he calls himself the "Yummy Brummie".[1][3] His father worked in a factory, and his mother was a dinner lady.[4][5] One of four children, when he was young he used to cook for his younger brother and sister, feeding thembeans on toast withcurry powder and chopped onions.[6] His first experience working in a kitchen was when he didwork experience at the Metropole Hotel at Birmingham'sNational Exhibition Centre at the age of 14; when he left school, he returned there for a six-year apprenticeship.[6]
In 2003 Purnell was appointed to his first head chef role at Jessica's inEdgbaston, Birmingham, which in 2005 was awarded the firstMichelin star given to a Birmingham restaurant and the same year was also named English Restaurant of the Year by theAA.[6]
Purnell left Jessica's in 2007 and opened his own restaurant, Purnell's in Cornwall Street, inBirmingham city centre. Purnell's was awarded a Michelin star in January 2009,[8] and itself won the AA Restaurant of the Year award in September of the same year.[9] The restaurant also won theSquare Meal Best Restaurant of the Year Award in 2012.[10]
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.[11] The Asquith closed in April 2011 due to a dispute with the building's landlord,[12] and in 2015 the building was converted to residential use.[13] Purnell subsequently opened The Mount by Glynn Purnell, agastropub inHenley-in-Arden,[14][15] and Plates by Purnell's, atapas restaurant,[16] in Birmingham.[1]
Purnell's closed in October 2024 due to reduced bookings,[1][17] leading to complaints about worthless vouchers.[18][19]
Purnell's 2014Cracking Yolks & Pig Tales combines recipes with personal reminiscences,[23] and was followed by two further cookery books,Rib Ticklers and Choux-ins (2016)[24] andA Purnell's Journey: There and Back Again (2020).[25][26] He has also published two children's books,The Magical Adventures of Whoops the Wonder Dog (2018)[27] andArnold the Alpaca (2021).[28]
