Join Katie Fontana, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Plain English; Jeremy Lee MBE, Chef Proprietor at Quo Vadis; and Caryn Hibbert, Founder and Director of Thyme and Bertioli, as they discuss how to create a kitchen that balances beauty, functionality, and warmth. The talk will be hosted by Laura Normanton, Executive Editor of House and Garden magazine.
Once a purely functional space hidden from view, the kitchen has undergone a remarkable transformation to become the true heart of the home, a workspace and setting for everyday living and entertainment. This talk explores the fascinating history of the kitchen, its evolution in design and how the kitchen shapes family dynamics and daily rituals.
Included in the ticket price is a welcome refreshment. The talk will be followed by an audience Q&A and a book signing of Jeremy Lee's book 'Cooking: Simply and Well, for One or Many.'
10-10.30am - Guest Arrival and Refreshments
10.30-11.30am - Talk
11.30am - Audience Q&A and Book Signing
12pm - 1pm - Lunch in the Ox Barn
*Talk and Ox Barn lunch ticket (£50) includes access to the talk, welcome refreshments and a two-course lunch in the Ox Barn (prix fixe menu). Guests may be seated on a communal table - if you have a seating preference, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate you on the day.
Katie Fontana
For more than 30 years, Plain English has set the benchmark for kitchens of high quality, craftsmanship, and heritage. At the core of the studio is an absolute commitment to authenticity, timeless elegance, and an exacting attention to detail.
Today, Plain English designs grace the homes of historic to contemporary settings, from country estates to city pied-a-terre, from grandly spacious to challengingly bijou. While still rooted in the Suffolk landscape where they first began, they have built up an enthusiastic following across the globe, which applauds our uncompromising approach to delivering – and surpassing – the rooms of which their clients dream.
Jeremy Lee (MBE)
Jeremy Lee joined the Hart brothers at Quo Vadis in Soho in early 2012, becoming Chef Proprietor of this venerable restaurant. Jeremy had previously manned the stoves of Blueprint Café on the first floor of the Design Museum, which Sir Terence Conran created on the south bank of the River Thames near Tower Bridge. This singular cook has worked with such distinguished restaurateurs as Simon Hopkinson and Alastair Little, who all played a considerable part in the great resurgence of modern British cooking.
His menus reflect the seasons and are full of his favourite things, using produce expertly sourced from his enviable list of suppliers. Jay Rayner described him as a “rare phenomena in the London food world; a chap everyone agrees is a good thing.” He writes for numerous newspapers and periodicals and has appeared on television Could You Eat an Elephant? For Channel 4 and several series of Great British Menu. In December 2023, Jeremy was awarded an MBE for services to the Food Industry.
Caryn Hibbert
Caryn Hibbert (nee Bertioli) has spent the past fifteen years creating Thyme. A qualified obstetrician and gynaecologist, Caryn worked in various teaching hospitals throughout London before moving to the Cotswolds with her husband Jerry, a film director, and their three young children. The children grew up immersed in the country life, the restoration of the farm buildings and the creation of Thyme.
Caryn loves to entertain, and her enthusiasm for hosting friends and family has influenced much of the design ethic at Thyme, allowing it to become more than just a place but rather a way of living, encapsulating her passion for food, interiors and nature.
Caryn’s love of interiors has also led to a range of fabrics and wallpapers for Bertioli (Thyme’s lifestyle brand) based on her hand-painted designs inspired by the natural habitats at Thyme.
Laura Normanton
Laura Normanton is Executive Editor of House & Garden magazine. Raised in the Scottish Borders, she went on to earn a First-Class Honours degree in Architectural History from the University of Edinburgh. Laura is widely regarded in the industry as a trusted voice on interiors, design, and entertaining. She lives in West London with her husband and two children.