Paul Ainsworth’s career took him from catering college in Southampton through some of London’s most prominent kitchens to Padstow, where his restaurant at Number 6 became a Michelin-starred address. His cooking there draws on Cornwall’s game, shellfish, meat and artisan producers, using local ingredients in a modern style. The restaurant’s reputation rests not on seafood alone, but on a broader view of the county’s produce.

Training in Southampton and London

Ainsworth grew up in Southampton and studied hospitality and catering at Southampton City College. His first significant professional opportunity came while he was still at college. Gary Rhodes invited students to work for him; after a successful interview, Ainsworth joined the kitchen at Rhodes in the Square, in London’s Dolphin Square, in 1998.

He went on to work for Gordon Ramsay at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay for three years, then moved to Ramsay’s Pétrus in 2003. There he worked under Marcus Wareing for three years, continuing with Wareing when he moved to The Berkeley. This experience linked Ainsworth’s early training to kitchens led by three established chefs: Rhodes, Ramsay and Wareing. The sequence also matters: his time at Pétrus was under Wareing, rather than simply a stint at a restaurant associated with Ramsay.

After those London years, Ainsworth moved from working in other chefs’ kitchens to opening his own restaurant with two friends. Businessman Derek Mapp provided the funding. That partnership brought him to Padstow and established the setting for the work that would become most closely associated with his name.

Building a restaurant in Padstow

The restaurant opened at 6 Middle Street, in an 18th-century town house, under the name Cornwall – Number 6. In 2009, Ainsworth bought out his friends and took over the business with his wife. Three years after the restaurant first opened, it was renamed Paul Ainsworth at Number 6. The change marked the development of the restaurant from a shared venture into a business led by Ainsworth and his wife.

Padstow’s association with seafood could have defined the restaurant from the outset. Ainsworth instead described his aim as complementing, rather than competing with, Rick Stein’s Seafood Restaurant in the town. He said he wanted to offer something different, showcasing Cornwall’s game, shellfish and meat, as well as its artisan producers. His stated approach was to source excellent local, seasonal ingredients and serve them in a simple, modern style.

That description gives a clearer account of Number 6’s identity than the idea of a restaurant built around one regional speciality. Its menu has included rib-eye steak, sweetbreads, anchovy and caviar toast, and mussel broth. The range brings meat, shellfish and other ingredients together, with the focus on sourcing and contemporary presentation rather than a single category of food.

Recognition and a wider Padstow business

Number 6 received a Michelin star in 2013 and its fourth AA Rosette in 2016. It was also included in the Good Food Guide’s top 50 UK restaurants, with a rating of seven out of ten. In 2013, The Independent critic Amol Rajan gave it 8.5 out of ten. These distinctions chart the restaurant’s recognition across different guides and reviews; the Michelin star is the clearest marker of its national profile.

Ainsworth’s work in Padstow extended beyond Number 6. He and Mapp reopened Rojano’s in the Square in 2011; the restaurant was rebranded as Caffè Rojano in 2020. Ainsworth and his wife also ran the Townhouse guest house, later known as Padstow Townhouse. These ventures place the restaurant within a wider local hospitality business rather than an isolated fine-dining project.

He has also taken part in food television. In 2011, Ainsworth competed in the BBC’s Great British Menu and won the dessert course with a dish called “Trip to the Fairground”. He has appeared as a guest chef on Saturday Kitchen, worked as a regular chef on Yes Chef, and appeared on Royal Recipes in 2017. That year he also appeared as a guest chef on MasterChef, where contestants cooked dishes for the US Ambassador to the UK. From 2018, he appeared as a judge on Great British Menu. In 2023, he served as a mentor on the British version of Next Level Chef, alongside Gordon Ramsay and Nyesha Arrington.

On 4 July 2024, Ainsworth’s first cookbook, For the Love of Food, was published. It added a book to a career already shared with television audiences and grounded in a working restaurant. The different formats widened the reach of his cooking, while Number 6 remained the central expression of his approach to ingredients and place.

Why Paul Ainsworth deserves a place in British Legacy

Paul Ainsworth’s place in British culinary history is grounded in a specific achievement: he established a restaurant in Padstow that earned a Michelin star and built its identity around more than the town’s best-known food association. Number 6’s recognition in 2013, followed by its fourth AA Rosette in 2016 and inclusion in the Good Food Guide’s top 50, records sustained notice from different parts of the restaurant world. Its menu, from rib-eye steak and sweetbreads to mussel broth, reflects Ainsworth’s stated intention to use Cornwall’s seasonal ingredients, game, shellfish, meat and artisan producers in a modern style.

His career also connects professional training, local business and public food culture. He progressed from Southampton City College to kitchens led by Gary Rhodes, Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Wareing, then moved to Padstow to create a restaurant of his own. The later development of Caffè Rojano and Padstow Townhouse shows how his work grew into a broader hospitality presence in the town. Television appearances, judging and mentoring on food programmes, and his 2024 cookbook brought that cooking to audiences beyond the restaurant. Together, these achievements give his British connection substance: a chef trained in England, working with Cornish produce and helping shape Padstow’s contemporary restaurant identity.

Sources

Paul Ainsworth · Paul Ainsworth

Adapted in part from Paul Ainsworth by Wikipedia contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Text has been edited and combined with the existing article; this adapted text is shared under the same licence. Contributor history.