About Us
Eight. Baldock is a new family-run bar and restaurant in the market town of Baldock, Hertfordshire, that focuses on a simplified offering with locally sourced ingredients.
It’s run by chef patron Kish Raheja, a local resident & chef for over 15 years, who has worked in some of London’s most reputable kitchens.
He has now been extremely fortunate to fulfil his lifelong ambition of opening a restaurant of his own in his home town with the help of the three women in his life, his partner Kerry and daughters Olivia & Freya.
Our Story
It’s a very special story that, like all good stories, happened out of the blue.
Kish found himself out of work as a result of the pandemic and being someone who doesn’t like to sit still for too long, decided to build a homemade tandoor in his garden.
After trying it out a few times, the smell wafting over his neighbour’s fence was too much to resist and they began requesting their weekend takeaways from him and Chef at Home was born.
The idea of Chef at Home, to begin with, was to do something to keep Kish busy, and keep his knives sharp (chefs saying apparently!). It was also an ideal opportunity to allow the local community to enjoy restaurant quality meals at a time when they couldn’t go out to eat. More importantly, Chef at Home was supporting local farmers, producers & fishermen at a time when there was little to no support for them.
The easing of lockdown restrictions in April 2021 encouraged Kish to be innovative, and it was then that he decided to invest any money he made from Chef at Home into a converted horsebox to take Chef at Home on the road. He traded at street food events, festivals, fayres and private events throughout the summer. It was extremely hard work but it was something he enjoyed doing.
In May 2022, Kish held a pop-up event at The Arbury for The Baldock Festival on a Wednesday night and managed to sell out! It was here where the seed for the restaurant was planted and in November 2022 he finally got the keys to his dreams.
It has been the continued support of the local community that has enabled the family to fulfil their dream of opening a local, neighbourhood restaurant after years of dreaming, something that they will never take for granted.
This support has further encouraged the ethos of focusing on local produce at the restaurant, something that is at the forefront of everything they do.
Locally sourced produce is something that features heavily throughout the menus at Eight. Locally distilled gin, vodka & rum, locally roasted coffee beans, locally churned gelato, locally reared South Devon beef, locally bred free range pork, locally brewed IPA & soon to feature locally grown fruit & veg from an allotment plot Kish has half a mile from the restaurant. Even his accountant, till systems & insurance broker are all local, independent businesses, something that we are all hugely passionate about.
The Team
The restaurant wouldn’t be where it is without the hard work & commitment of our wonderful team, all of whom are also local residents and all round superstars.
Our talented bar team have curated an exquisite cocktail list that will tantalise your taste buds, as well as a beautiful wine list with the help of our friends at local wine merchants Wine 2 trade.
The future plans for Eight is to continue our organic growth, develop our private catering offering with our experience through Chef at Home as well as (and probably most importantly) train & nurture the next generation of hospitality superstars, a few of which we’re sure work with us already!
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