Meet Award-Winning Chef Anna Hedworth
Ahead of International Women's Day, we catch up with Anna Hedworth to find out about her whirlwind year, opening new cocktail bar Wren and how she's changing the industry for the better
A visit to Anna’s first restaurant, Cook House in Ouseburn, feels like heading to a friend’s place for dinner – and that’s exactly the point. Coming from a large family where loud dinners were the norm, Anna knew warmth was central to what she wanted. ‘What I like about food is that sense of gathering, getting everyone around the table and it being loud and fun,’ she says. ‘I’ve always wanted people to feel that warmth of welcome as if you were coming round to my house, albeit I’m not going to give you an olive oil martini!’
The North East in particular, Anna says, is especially receptive to a warmer, friendlier approach to hospitality. ‘As soon as there’s anybody in the North East doing something good, everybody is behind them and that’s really nice. I think that’s quite a northern thing,’ she says, and it’s a quality she looks for in her team. ‘Everybody that I employ, hospitality is their profession. They are genuinely invested in what they do, as am I, to produce the best food, the best drink, [and] the best service.’
Ahead of International Women’s Day, Anna reflects on others she admires locally. ‘People like Vanessa [Stolz] from Pine – she’s amazing and her wine knowledge is amazing. She’s done a few events with us at Long Friday and at our wine fair. Siân [Byerley] from Pine as well, she’s done amazingly well in that restaurant,’ says Anna. ‘I’ve always had a connection with Helen Doyle from 21. She’s the pastry chef there and she’s always been very helpful to me and I think she runs an amazing team of people at 21.’
Despite the support, she appreciates that hospitality can still seem like a daunting industry with a bad rap, particularly to young women. ‘I don’t think kitchens are bad like they used to be and I don’t think the hospitality industry is as bad as it’s portrayed, especially in the North East,’ she says. ‘I think maybe people are more reticent to get into hospitality and kitchens because of that story or messaging.’
‘We have a woman in charge of the kitchen at Long Friday, and then maybe more than half the chefs at Cook House are women.’
At Anna’s venues, women are encouraged to reach their full potential. ‘We have a woman in charge of the kitchen at Long Friday, and then maybe more than half the chefs at Cook House are women,’ she says. ‘It’s always so nice to see them start, especially when we had a couple who hadn’t even worked in kitchens before, to see their confidence grow and realise, I can do this. I think it’s just that messaging that’s always existed [that] men run restaurants. It takes a while for that to change, but I think it is changing.’
This past year has been a whirlwind for Anna, and included opening her new bar Wren, and releasing Service, her new book chronicling a day in the life of her restaurant and hundreds of beloved recipes. She was also given the opportunity to cook at Fortnum & Mason and Quo Vadis in London, and her restaurant Long Friday was named The Good Food Guide’s Best Local Restaurant in Yorkshire and the North East. ‘It’s always a boost for our team when we get a review or something like that, but I never have and don’t chase badges or accolades,’ she says. ‘It validates what you do, doesn’t it? You work really hard and then if somebody else recognises it and understands, then it’s very rewarding – but it isn’t something that we chase.’
Looking ahead, the coming year is all about consolidation for Anna and the team. ‘I’m just very proud of 2025,’ she says. ‘And 2026 is more about taking stock and building on what we’ve achieved.’ With Wren still in its infancy, and a recently launched catering arm of Cook House, Cook House Elsewhere, Anna and the team are content to keep on pushing. ‘I think we have the facilities. We have the brilliant staff, we’ve got the space, we’ve got the kitchen,’ she says. ‘I do feel very proud and proud of the team running the restaurants. Our food especially I think just keeps improving all the time, which is what we’re working towards.’
Stay up to date with Anna on Instagram @cookhouse_anna.
