‘I’m the head chef at an award-winning Leeds restaurant - and it’s giving me the platform to make what I love: pies’

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com 
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
Head chef Josh Whitehead has had a stellar year at city centre restaurant Kino.

While he said he can’t remember how or when he got into cooking, Josh has been putting Leeds on the map with his food. 

He has headed many kitchens in the city, including the Harewood Food and Drinks Project, Ox Club in the Headrow and Olive and Rye in Queen’s Arcade.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In 2016, Josh was a semi-finalist of MasterChef: The Professionals, and he’s continued to push boundaries in Leeds with his latest post at Kino, on New Briggate. 

Head chef Josh Whitehead at Kino, New Briggate. Photo: Bruce Rollinson/National WorldHead chef Josh Whitehead at Kino, New Briggate. Photo: Bruce Rollinson/National World
Head chef Josh Whitehead at Kino, New Briggate. Photo: Bruce Rollinson/National World | Bruce Rollinson

Looking back at the year he’s had, Josh, 29, said: “In the best possible way, it's been turbulent. For good reasons, bad reasons, whatever. But it's been like a real learning curve for me.

“This is a head chef position in every sense of the word, which is great. A lot of the things that you have to do as head chef, I've already been doing for years. 

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“But then there's also loads of things that I didn't know that I've learnt here.” 

From winning the sustainability accolade at the 2024 Oliver Awards to launching the city’s first ever Staycation Festival featuring top celebrity chefs due to take place this summer, the last 12 months have been a whirlwind for the business. 

Josh said: “It was amazing to get the award. It’s somebody that I feel really strongly about. 

“One of the key core values of Opera North is sustainability and bringing an award back for Opera North and Kino as a business for how we've been operating was really, really cool.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“And it was a little bit unexpected because I wasn't trying to push to win any awards of any kind really, I was just like, ‘let's just try and make this good and then we'll see what we can do’.”

The head chef also launched the city’s first ever Pastry Club. Taking place on the first Monday of each month, diners are served seven-courses of pies and pastries. 

The self-titled pastry enthusiast said he doesn’t recall when his obsession with pies began but his reputation currently precedes him.

Josh Whitehead is a pastry enthusiast and shares his creations with the people of Leeds at his monthly Pastry Club. Soon, the business will be offering Afternoon Tea with pies too. Photo: Bruce RollinsonJosh Whitehead is a pastry enthusiast and shares his creations with the people of Leeds at his monthly Pastry Club. Soon, the business will be offering Afternoon Tea with pies too. Photo: Bruce Rollinson
Josh Whitehead is a pastry enthusiast and shares his creations with the people of Leeds at his monthly Pastry Club. Soon, the business will be offering Afternoon Tea with pies too. Photo: Bruce Rollinson | Bruce Rollinson/National World

Josh explained: “It’s pretty well-documented and pretty well-known that that's my thing. And I've made it my personality as much as I can.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“There's an ongoing joke that I'm slowly trying to turn Kino into a pie shop.”

Josh fondly recalls how he reached out to leading pastry chef Calum Franklin in the hopes to learn more about the craft about seven years ago. 

The Leeds chef said: “He had like 75,000 followers or something so he was never going to reply to a DM. So I called the restaurant and pretended to be the Michelin Guide.

“I said, ‘I need the executive chef’s email address’ and because they thought I was the Michelin Guide, they gave me it straight away. Then I emailed him.” 

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Coming clean about how he got his contact information, Josh was invited to the restaurant Franklin worked at and spent a full day learning how to make pies. 

“But I didn't really do anything with the knowledge,” Josh said.

“I was working at the time at Ox Club and it wasn't really applicable for that type of restaurant. A pie wouldn't really fit on their menu.” 

He had found himself in a similar position at his new role, as executive chef of Harewood Food and Drink Project. Josh said it was when he secured his current title that he was really able to do what he loves.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad
Kino, on New Briggate. Photo: Bruce Rollinson/National World Kino, on New Briggate. Photo: Bruce Rollinson/National World
Kino, on New Briggate. Photo: Bruce Rollinson/National World | Bruce Rollinson/National World

“Kino has given me a platform to really push it forward,” Josh said. 

He added: “This is a really hard job. Even when it's good, it still can be a bit s**t because if I wasn't at work tonight, I'd be sitting at home drinking tea watching Yellowstone with my wife and my cats but instead I'm here. And when the lads are out for a curry or whatever, I’m here. 

“So there's to be somewhere in it for you. And the pastry and pies are what I find really rewarding and really gratifying so how supportive Opera North has been for that has been amazing.” 

Kino, in many ways, is very “unusual” to other restaurants in Leeds, Josh said. Below Howard Assembly Room and adjacent to Leeds Grand Theatre, Josh said Kino can often serve up to 90 people in an hour.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The kitchen is often run by four people, including sous chef James Kettleborough who Josh jokingly calls his “work wife” and says “handles the lion’s share” behind the scenes.

“Almost every chef has got some sort of experience with pre-theatre but our experience with pre-theatre is wildly different,” Josh explained.

“It gives you a lesson in designing dishes and writing menus. Sometimes you have a menu and then you go, ‘I'll have those 3 starters, those 3 mains, and those 3 desserts and I'll stick those on the pre-theater menu’. 

“But when you work here or a place like this, you can't do that because the service is so fast.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“You have to design the dishes specifically for it - and that's the trickiest bit, having a dish that hits all the points: it comes within budget, it's easy enough for the team to do in the kitchen en masse, it's got to be delicious, it's got to look good, it's got to be not overly time consuming to prepare - and it's got to be satisfying and delicious to the guest. 

“We're still fine-tuning it and I think we always will be fine-tuning it - and that's really the hardest thing.” 

Still in its infancy, Josh hopes to water Kino as much as possible and reach new heights with the business.

Kino in Leeds will be hosting the city's first ever Staycation Festival with leading chefs including Marco Pierre White this summer. Photo: Bruce RollinsonKino in Leeds will be hosting the city's first ever Staycation Festival with leading chefs including Marco Pierre White this summer. Photo: Bruce Rollinson
Kino in Leeds will be hosting the city's first ever Staycation Festival with leading chefs including Marco Pierre White this summer. Photo: Bruce Rollinson | Bruce Rollinson

He said: “Hospitality is such an unpredictable, and at times, fickle industry. I don't really want to plan.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“For me, it’s just really trying to get the team as good as it can be, getting the food where it wants to be and just having a busy restaurant. 

“I want to put truffles and caviar in pies but to do that, I need the general public to be where it needs to be, I need the staff and budget to be where it needs to be, I need consistency, and I need as good a product and service as we can get.

“If I can make all of those things 1% better each day, then it's better than it was yesterday. We want Kino to be like an experience rather than a convenience.

“But what’s next for me is to get married and have some time off. That's number one on my agenda.” 

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.