April Bloomfield emerged on the American dining scene with The Spotted Pig in New York, awarded one Michelin star in 2005. Her cooking is built on ingredient-driven clarity, precise technique and a grounded, rustic approach. She won the James Beard Award – Best Chef: New York City in 2014 (awarded by the James Beard Foundation).
Born in Birmingham, England, April Bloomfield trained at the Birmingham College of Food (now University College Birmingham). Before embracing a culinary path, she had considered joining the police force, but her time in professional kitchens changed her direction.
She refined her skills in several acclaimed British restaurants, most notably at The River Café in London under Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray, a pivotal experience that shaped her disciplined, ingredient-first approach.
In 2003 she moved to New York at the invitation of Mario Batali to develop a new urban gastropub concept. The following year, she opened The Spotted Pig with restaurateur Ken Friedman. The restaurant quickly became an essential address in Manhattan and earned one Michelin star in 2005, holding it for many years.
Bloomfield later expanded her presence in New York with The Breslin Bar & Dining Room at the Ace Hotel and The John Dory Oyster Bar, bringing her signature rustic yet technically rigorous style to new contexts.
Her culinary philosophy embraces whole-animal cooking, a deep respect for raw materials and a rustic sensibility interpreted through sharp, clean execution. She has spoken often about giving “110%” in every role since her early days cooking at a Holiday Inn in Birmingham.
Over the years she received major industry recognition, including being named Food & Wine Best New Chef (2007) and winning the James Beard Award for Best Chef NYC (2014).
Bloomfield’s career has also navigated difficult moments. In 2017, The Spotted Pig was at the center of a high-profile workplace harassment scandal involving Ken Friedman, prompting scrutiny regarding management oversight.
In recent years, she has returned with a more intimate project: Sailor, in Brooklyn (228 Dekalb Ave.), opened in 2023 together with restaurateur Gabriel Stulman. The restaurant is currently listed in the MICHELIN Guide but does not hold a Michelin star.
Through her work, Bloomfield has significantly shaped the modern gastropub, elevating humble cuts, rethinking British-influenced comfort cooking and helping define a new, informal yet technically exacting New York dining landscape.
