Hey, I’m James. Welcome to The Smoking Gunn, a venture made from my passion for creating seriously tasty food from quality ingredients and the pure joy of seeing friends, family, customers and guests enjoying every bite.

Growing up in the New Forest with parents who also love to cook, and family occasions always spent around the table with good food, is where I really started to fall in love with bringing people together over something delicious.

After school I was incredibly lucky to receive a ‘specialised chef scholarship’ at Britain’s leading professional association of chefs, The Royal Academy of Culinary, where I really honed my skills as an apprentice chef at The Dorchester, London. After I graduated, I was offered a full-time position as a Demi-Chef de Partie and continued to work alongside the fantastic team at The Dorchester.

Since then I’ve spent some time furthering my skills at Auberge de Noves in France, travelling Australia and heading up some of the best kitchens across the New Forest. Throughout this time I always had a yearning for something different…and here we are.

For me, creating The Smoking Gunn, is and always will be about bringing people together, utilising the very best ingredients, especially the abundance of goodies found right here on our doorsteps in the New Forest, and creating real food, with flavours that sing and always leaving my guests feeling happy, full and satisfied.

You can find my kitchen at Setters Farm Workshops for tasting menu evenings, cooking demonstrations and private events or book me and The Smoking Gunn van to come to your wedding, birthday, celebration or even hire me as a private chef for a sit down meal in your home.

If you’d like to know a little more about the services I offer, please do get in touch, or head to my events page to see what’s coming soon. I hope to cook for you real soon!