Simon Rogan MBE is the British chef and restaurateur widely recognised as one of the defining UK fine-dining figures of the past two decades, operating L’Enclume, the three-Michelin-star restaurant in Cartmel, Cumbria, which has held three stars since 2022. Born 29 September 1966 in Southampton, England, Rogan trained at South Downs Technical College in Sussex and worked at Rhodes in the Square under Gary Rhodes and at Park Lane Hotel in London before opening L’Enclume in Cartmel in October 2002. The restaurant gradually earned a reputation for ingredient-led cookery built on a kitchen farm, earning its first Michelin star in 2005, its second in 2013, and its third in 2022.
Rogan’s 2025-2026 work centres on L’Enclume in Cartmel, which retained three Michelin stars in the February 2026 Michelin Guide announcement, alongside Henrock (two-Michelin-star satellite restaurant at Linthwaite House in Windermere), Rogan and Co (one-Michelin-star village restaurant in Cartmel), Aulis Cartmel (chef’s-table development kitchen), and Aulis London. He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in recognition of his services to hospitality, and participated in Great British Menu 2026. Upcoming 2026 events include An Evening of British Gastronomy and Wiston Wine at Henrock on 5 June 2026, and a Gastromasa 2025 keynote on L’Enclume: A Decade Of at the November 2025 Istanbul conference.
TL;DR
- British chef born 29 September 1966 in Southampton, England
- Trained at South Downs Technical College; Rhodes in the Square under Gary Rhodes
- Opened L’Enclume in Cartmel, Cumbria in October 2002
- First Michelin star 2005; second 2013; third 2022 (held continuously through 2026)
- Operates L’Enclume, Henrock (2 stars), Rogan and Co (1 star), Aulis Cartmel, Aulis London
- 2025-2026: Three stars retained; MBE; Great British Menu 2026; Gastromasa 2025 keynote
Simon Rogan key facts
| Born | 29 September 1966, Southampton, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Training | South Downs Technical College Sussex; Rhodes in the Square under Gary Rhodes; Park Lane Hotel London |
| Flagship restaurant | L’Enclume, Cartmel, Cumbria (opened October 2002; three Michelin stars since 2022) |
| Restaurant group | L’Enclume (3 stars), Henrock at Linthwaite House Windermere (2 stars), Rogan and Co Cartmel (1 star), Aulis Cartmel, Aulis London |
| Kitchen farm | Our Farm at Cartmel (supplies L’Enclume, Rogan and Co, Aulis Cartmel) |
| Honours | Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) |
Early life and training of Simon Rogan
Rogan was born on 29 September 1966 in Southampton, England, on the south coast. He grew up in Southampton and developed an early interest in cooking through school and family influences. After formal education he attended South Downs Technical College in Sussex for catering qualifications, following the traditional British pathway from technical college into hotel and restaurant kitchens in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Through the early 1990s Rogan worked at the Park Lane Hotel in London and subsequently at Rhodes in the Square under Gary Rhodes, one of the defining British chefs of the period. The Rhodes in the Square experience gave him classical British fine-dining technique at the Michelin level. Through the late 1990s and early 2000s he continued in senior sous-chef roles across London and UK hotels, building the classical grounding that would anchor his subsequent move to Cumbria.
In October 2002 Rogan and his partner Penny Tapsell opened L’Enclume in Cartmel, a small village in south Cumbria at the edge of the Lake District. The restaurant took its name from the French word for anvil and was housed in a former village smithy. Rogan’s early L’Enclume menu combined classical technique with highly foraged and wild-ingredient elements, and the restaurant gradually built a national reputation over the following decade. L’Enclume earned its first Michelin star in 2005.
Simon Rogan career timeline
- 29 September 1966: Born in Southampton, England
- Late 1980s: Trains at South Downs Technical College in Sussex
- Early 1990s: Works at Park Lane Hotel, London
- Mid-1990s: Works at Rhodes in the Square under Gary Rhodes
- Late 1990s-early 2000s: Senior sous-chef roles across London and UK
- October 2002: Opens L’Enclume in Cartmel, Cumbria, with partner Penny Tapsell
- 2005: L’Enclume earns first Michelin star
- 2008: Opens Rogan and Co village restaurant in Cartmel
- 2011: Establishes Our Farm at Cartmel kitchen farm to supply restaurants
- 2012: Takes on Fera at Claridge’s London (until 2018)
- 2013: L’Enclume earns second Michelin star
- 2014: Fera at Claridge’s earns Michelin star
- 2016: Opens Henrock at Linthwaite House, Windermere
- 2016: Opens Aulis Cartmel chef’s-table development kitchen
- 2018: Leaves Fera at Claridge’s
- 2018: Opens Aulis London
- 2021: Rogan and Co earns first Michelin star
- 2022: L’Enclume earns third Michelin star
- 2023: Henrock earns second Michelin star
- 2024: L’Enclume, Henrock and Rogan and Co all retain stars
- November 2025: Simon Rogan at Gastromasa 2025 keynote in Istanbul on L’Enclume: A Decade Of
- 31 December 2025: Simon Rogan MBE Instagram New Year post
- 9 February 2026: L’Enclume retains three Michelin stars in 2026 Michelin Guide
- April 2026: Great British Menu 2026 appearance
- 5 June 2026: An Evening of British Gastronomy and Wiston Wine at Henrock scheduled
- 2026: Continues L’Enclume, Henrock, Rogan and Co, Aulis Cartmel and Aulis London
Simon Rogan signature style: ingredient-led Cumbrian fine dining with kitchen farm
Rogan’s central argument, developed across more than two decades at L’Enclume in Cartmel, is that serious fine dining can be anchored in a small Cumbrian village with ingredient-led cookery built on a dedicated kitchen farm, foraging of the surrounding Lake District landscape, and a small-team operation. The Our Farm at Cartmel kitchen farm, established 2011, grows many of the vegetables, herbs, fruits and flowers that appear on the L’Enclume, Rogan and Co and Aulis Cartmel menus, and the foraging programme extends the ingredient catchment across the Lake District.
The second defining element is the multi-restaurant Cartmel and Cumbria operation. Unlike many three-Michelin-star chefs who operate a single flagship, Rogan has built a cluster of restaurants in Cartmel and the surrounding Cumbria area: L’Enclume (3 stars), Rogan and Co (1 star), Aulis Cartmel, and Henrock at Linthwaite House Windermere (2 stars). The Aulis London and the concluded 2012-2018 Fera at Claridge’s extended the group into London, though the Cumbria core has remained the primary operation.
The third pillar is the three-Michelin-star status retained in February 2026 across multiple restaurants. L’Enclume has held three stars since 2022, Henrock two stars since 2023, and Rogan and Co one star since 2021, making Rogan’s group one of the most-decorated UK chef operations outside London. Within the current UK and international three-star cohort Rogan sits alongside peers including Rasmus Munk at Alchemist Copenhagen and Grant Achatz at Alinea Chicago, alongside UK peers including Sat Bains at two-star Restaurant Sat Bains Nottingham.
Notable Simon Rogan work
Several Rogan projects have become reference points in UK fine dining. L’Enclume in Cartmel, opened October 2002, has held three Michelin stars since 2022 and is one of the defining UK three-star restaurants outside London. Rogan and Co in Cartmel (opened 2008, 1 Michelin star) and Henrock at Linthwaite House Windermere (opened 2016, 2 Michelin stars) together form the Cumbria restaurant cluster. Aulis Cartmel (opened 2016) and Aulis London (opened 2018) are chef’s-table development kitchens. The 2012-2018 Fera at Claridge’s in London extended the Rogan approach to the capital during that period. Our Farm at Cartmel, established 2011, is the kitchen farm that supplies the Cartmel restaurants. The 2016 Rogan cookbook Rogan: Cooking from the Wild also anchors the ingredient-led approach.
Simon Rogan awards and recognition
- October 2002: Opens L’Enclume in Cartmel, Cumbria
- 2005: L’Enclume earns first Michelin star
- 2008: Opens Rogan and Co village restaurant in Cartmel
- 2011: Establishes Our Farm at Cartmel kitchen farm
- 2013: L’Enclume earns second Michelin star
- 2014: Fera at Claridge’s earns Michelin star (held until 2018)
- 2016: Opens Henrock and Aulis Cartmel
- 2018: Opens Aulis London
- 2021: Rogan and Co earns first Michelin star
- 2022: L’Enclume earns third Michelin star
- 2023: Henrock earns second Michelin star
- Appointed MBE for services to hospitality
- November 2025: Keynote speaker at Gastromasa 2025 in Istanbul
- 9 February 2026: L’Enclume retains three Michelin stars in 2026 Guide
- April 2026: Great British Menu 2026 appearance
- 5 June 2026: An Evening of British Gastronomy and Wiston Wine at Henrock
Simon Rogan impact on UK fine dining and kitchen-farm cookery
Rogan’s most concrete contribution is the 23-year L’Enclume run in Cartmel, including the 2022-onwards three-Michelin-star period. Few UK chefs have sustained a three-star restaurant outside London for comparable duration, and L’Enclume is one of the defining UK three-star destinations and one of the defining kitchen-farm-based fine-dining restaurants in the world.
The second contribution is the Cartmel-and-Cumbria restaurant group. L’Enclume (3 stars), Rogan and Co (1 star), Aulis Cartmel, and Henrock at Windermere (2 stars) together form one of the most-decorated UK chef operations, and the cluster in and around Cartmel demonstrates that multiple Michelin-starred restaurants can operate in a small Cumbrian village-and-countryside area anchored by a single kitchen farm.
The third contribution is the Our Farm at Cartmel kitchen farm since 2011 and the ingredient-led cookery model. The farm supplies multiple restaurants and has positioned Rogan alongside peers including Sat Bains at Restaurant Sat Bains Nottingham, Rasmus Munk at Alchemist Copenhagen, and Grant Achatz at Alinea Chicago as one of the defining fine-dining figures of the current era who have anchored serious restaurants in regional settings outside major capitals.
Simon Rogan FAQ
How many Michelin stars does L’Enclume have?
Three Michelin stars. L’Enclume earned its first star in 2005, second in 2013, and third in 2022. The restaurant retained its three stars in the February 2026 Michelin Guide announcement, making it one of the defining UK three-star restaurants outside London.
What is Our Farm at Cartmel?
Our Farm at Cartmel is Rogan’s dedicated kitchen farm, established in 2011 in the Cartmel area of south Cumbria. The farm grows vegetables, herbs, fruits and flowers that appear on L’Enclume, Rogan and Co, and Aulis Cartmel menus, anchoring the ingredient-led cookery approach that has defined Rogan’s work across more than two decades.
What restaurants does Rogan operate?
L’Enclume in Cartmel (3 Michelin stars), Rogan and Co in Cartmel (1 Michelin star), Aulis Cartmel chef’s-table development kitchen, Henrock at Linthwaite House Windermere (2 Michelin stars), and Aulis London. The 2012-2018 Fera at Claridge’s in London concluded when Rogan left Claridge’s.
Is Rogan an MBE?
Yes. Simon Rogan has been appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in recognition of his services to hospitality. His Instagram handle displays the MBE post-nominal as of 2025-2026.
When did L’Enclume open?
In October 2002 in Cartmel, a small village in south Cumbria at the edge of the Lake District. The restaurant was housed in a former village smithy and took its name from the French word for anvil. It has operated continuously at the same Cartmel site for more than 23 years through 2026.
What is next for Simon Rogan
L’Enclume continues with three Michelin stars through 2026 following the February 2026 retention. Great British Menu 2026 airs in April 2026, and An Evening of British Gastronomy and Wiston Wine at Henrock is scheduled for 5 June 2026. Aulis London, Aulis Cartmel, Rogan and Co and Henrock continue operating. His public Instagram (@simonroganofficial) is the best source for current updates.
