A Brief Biography
Apprenticeship in various restaurants in UK and France, including;
June 1987-March 1989.
Senior
Chef-de-Partie at Le Manior aux Quat’ Saisons, with Raymond BLANC,
during which time I won M.O.G.B. Young Chef of UK (1988).
March 1989-October 1990.
Sauce
Chef at Restaurant Jamin in Paris with Joel ROBUCHON. First British
Chef to work at his restaurant. Robuchon was awarded Gault Millau Chef
of the Century in 1990.
October 1990-November 1991.
Head Chef for Marco Pierre WHITE at Harveys in London.
January 1992.
Opened Pied-a-Terre in London as Chef, co-proprietor, receiving first Michelin star in January 1993 and second star in January 1996 at the age of twenty-nine, being one of the youngest recipients anywhere, to receive such an honour.
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1995 Included in the iconic book "People of the 90's"
September 1996 until September 1998.
Consultancy
in India with the Taj Group, opening the highly regarded Longchamps
Restaurant in the flagship Taj Mansingh hotel in New Delhi, as well as
helping at some of the other hotels within the group.
June 1999.
Returned
to France and opened NEAT Restaurant in Cannes as Chef-Proprietor. The
following January, just seven months later, the restaurant won a star from
the Michelin Guide, where I became the first British Chef to win a star
in France, as well as Robuchon performing his first parrinage (endorsement) for the opening.
R
June 2001.
Opened NEAT Restaurant in London as well as continuing the restaurant in Cannes.
April 2003
Consultancy
in Moscow with the country’s leading restaurateur Stepan Mikhalkov and
became a partner in one of his flagship properties.
May 2004.
Opened Casa Lalla Riad and Restaurant in Marrakech
which enjoyed a fantastic success, including a review in Conde Nast 80
world’s best restaurants for 2005. Time Out also wrote that a meal at
Casa Lalla “could be the highlight of trip to Marrakech”.
September 2006 until present.
Opened Park Cafe in San Jose, Costa Rica. Reviewed in
The Daily Meal for an article about Costa Rica in April 2017. “My last meal in Costa Rica was impeccable,
fabulous, the best meal I ever ate anywhere! I realize that that’s very high
praise and I mean every word. It was in the Park Cafe.”
"This place is truly one of
those so unique and special restaurants you will never forget.. "
"Exquisite food from a master. We are so delighted to have found this
restaurant/antique store. Dining discoveries like this are one of the reasons
one travels".
October 2016. Traffic Magazine; included in list of the Twenty People who had Transformed Costa Rican Society A restaurant is a universe. That idea seems to run throughout Richard Neat’s career. France, India, Great Britain, Russia, Morocco and Costa Rica have been privileged settings for the creations of this virtuoso chef, attracted by the cultural richness expressed through people and their conversations.
His essence is a constant search: progress, reflection and exploration. In this way he came to combine these qualities with the prestige that surrounds him today.
Neat began his training as a classical chef and, through considerable discipline, mastered sophisticated ways of transforming ingredients into innovative dishes of haute cuisine.
After gaining experience and international recognition, he decided to embark upon a new and unique project in Costa Rica. With charisma, knowledge and experience, Neat brought passion, coherence and personality to the sophisticated world he wanted to create.
The result was something surprising: a restaurant founded upon contemporary creativity, which has become an expression of his work as a chef. This fusion of originality and restaurant has allowed him to remain in contact with culture.
He has created a team with clear objectives for developing new projects, and has found an exclusive clientele who, because of their outlook, genuinely enjoy the garden, the gastronomy and the unusual character of the place.
Costa Rica allows this pioneer of refined gastronomy to be creative in combining local and imported ingredients, to innovate, and to use plants in a different way — creating a cosmopolitan space that places him alongside important gastronomic establishments around the world.
For Costa Rica, in the heart of the capital, he has created something fresh and modern. In this way, Park Café represents a high point in the success of the much-admired Neat, who is fascinated by tranquillity and by the growing harmony of a place that provides satisfaction in life. Nothing, after all, is better than feeling at home.
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