A Cheese and Onion Pie Just Like This Veteran Chef’s Mom Made

Simon Hopkinson is a softly spoken and almost self-effacing chef who never needs to shout to gain attention. It’s more than 25 years since he ran a restaurant, yet to this day he has a voice that’s heard in kitchens and homes across the U.K.

He was born in Lancashire, in northern England, and left school at the age of 17 to become a chef. He’s best known for opening Bibendum restaurant in London, with the late Sir Terence Conran, in 1987. Simon walked away from the kitchen in 1995 and his influence lives on, both through the chefs who worked with him and also through his food writing and TV shows.