BACK in the early years of this century, I used to enjoy popping into the St William’s College restaurant now and again to sample its celebrated wild mushroom and asparagus risotto.

But in December 2014 this Grade-I-listed building closed its doors as a wedding and conference venue with a view to major refurbishment, repairs and to the development of a sustainability strategy for the site.

St William’s College has an interesting history.

On May 11, 1461 it was founded as a residence for 23 chantry priests and a provost.

Chantry priests were employed at the pre-Reformation Minster exclusively to pray for the souls of the dead at the 60 or so chantries inside the cathedral.

In The History of York Minster, GE Aylmer and Reginald Cant state that this was “the most important college of cathedral chantry priests ever to be founded in England”.

It was dedicated to the memory of York’s native saint, William Fitzherbert, who eventually became archbishop in 1154, and was credited with miracles at his shrine in the Minster.

St William’s College

Another historical source of information about the college is the 1994 booklet The History of St William’s College by PR Newman, historian to the Dean and Chapter of York.

He claims that there is evidence to suggest that the chantry priests were themselves sub-letting rooms to laymen before 1547.

Anyone who has joined one of York’s famous ghost trails will have heard about the two brothers who lived there and murdered one of the chantry priest residents. The elder brother is said to have betrayed his younger sibling to the authorities and supposedly spends eternity pacing up and down the upper floor of the college.

In 1547, the chantries and chantry foundations were abolished by an Act of Parliament. The college building was either granted or sold to one of the Crown commissioners responsible for its suppression, Sir Michael Stanhope.

Throughout much of the 17th century, the building was held by the staunchly royalist Jenkyns family of Grimston Bar. In 1642, King Charles I came to York and it’s known that the King’s printer set up his presses in the college which was then known as the Parsonage.

View of the historic gateway from Goodramgate

A century later, the building was divided up into eight dwellings. A notable feature of the history of St William’s College is that the residents seem to have been tenants rather than owners of the building, and short-term tenancies at that.

In 1719, John Ouram, a cook, and John Barber, an upholsterer, sold their lease to Charles Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle, the celebrated builder of Castle Howard. The college continued to be divided up into smaller units with no fewer than 13 families living there.

One of the college’s more irascible tenants was a certain William Jameson. Between 1809 and 1816, he brought private prosecutions in the church court against eight neighbours.

Jameson had been declared bankrupt and had been ejected from the college, moving to smaller quarters in the neighbouring Vicars Choral property in Bedern.

Entrance to St William’s College showing the coats of arms of William Fitzherbert and York Minster

Once installed there, he’s said to have waged a pitiful and sustained campaign against the college and the tenants who had replaced him. He was even said to have broken into the eastern wing of the college and removed the doors and panelling from the rooms.

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In 1826, Jameson was writing letters publicly haranguing the Dean and Chapter. He harped on about the avoidable problems in the vicinity of the college. College Street was at that time a narrow thoroughfare with houses either side and traffic passing through. Fortunately, by 1827, no more was heard of Jameson.

In 1854, College Street was home to some 34 families in cramped living conditions.

College Street, formerly open to horse-drawn traffic

It was Frank Green, the wealthy industrialist and philanthropist who rescued St William’s College, as he’d done with the Treasurer’s House. Green was also anxious to save the historic gateway at the end of College Street.

By 1901, The York Corporation had resolved to demolish the street and its houses to make way for the new road, Deangate. Green bought St William’s College and offered it for sale to the York Diocesan Trust as a venue for meetings of the Convocation of the Northern Province.

(Image: NQ)

He agreed to sell the college for the price he’d paid for it provided that the Trust undertook appropriate restoration, and accepted his nomination of the celebrated architect Temple Moore, for the work.

Green also made it a condition that he would be given first option to buy the college, if the Dean and Chapter decided to sell it. After a public campaign between conservationists, led by Frank Green, and progressives, the conservationists won; York Corporation backed down and decided to re-route Deangate. The restoration work on the college took place in 1902.

St Williams College, York, in 2014 when it was undergoing restoration work. Picture David Harrison

The Dean and Chapter of York Minster became trustees of St William’s College in 1972, and further restoration work took place in the 1980s. In the next two decades, the building thrived as a conference and exhibition centre.

Rosalind Kelly, marketing and communications manager to the Chapter of York, told me that Listed Building consent and all planning permissions have now been obtained to restore the building as part of the Neighbourhood Plan. An update on the project is expected later in May.

David Wilson is a community writer with The Press

Push a metal corer into a peatland and you pull up something remarkable: a dark, dense, sponge-like material made of partly decomposed plants. This peat is rich in carbon. In some places, that peat has been building up for thousands of years. Peatlands are the ecosystems where this happens.

Peat is often associated with the bogs of Scotland or Ireland, but peatlands occur on every continent, from the Arctic to the tropics. They can sit beneath open moorland, under swamp forest or in remote floodplains. What links them is water: in wet, oxygen-poor ground, dead plant material does not fully rot away, so carbon accumulates over centuries and millennia.

That makes peatlands globally important. Although they cover only about 3–4% of Earth’s land surface, they store nearly a third of the world’s soil carbon. When they remain intact, they can keep locking away carbon over very long timescales. But when they are drained or converted for agriculture, forestry or development, that stored carbon is exposed to air and released back into the atmosphere as greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide. Thus, peatlands can become major sources of greenhouse gas emissions when degraded. Globally, peatland degradation is estimated to account for around 5–10% of annual human-caused carbon dioxide emissions.

For ecosystems so important to the global carbon cycle, we still know surprisingly little about some basic things.

À lire aussi :
How we discovered the world’s largest tropical peatland, deep in the jungles of Congo

One of the biggest questions is simply: where are all the world’s peatlands? That may sound like a question scientists should already have answered. But many peatlands are hard to detect from the surface, difficult to access, or lie beneath dense forest. Large areas of the tropics remain poorly mapped.

What may be the world’s largest tropical peatland complex, in the Congo Basin, was only formally confirmed to science in 2017. That discovery was astonishing not just because of its size, but because it showed that globally important carbon stores can still remain effectively hidden in plain sight.

This uncertainty matters. If countries do not know where their peatlands are, they cannot fully account for them in climate plans, biodiversity strategies or national greenhouse gas inventories. And if we are still refining estimates of peatland extent, we are also still refining estimates of how much carbon they store.

That gap was one reason behind a new study I co-authored. Rather than trying to answer a single peatland question, we asked a broader one: what does the peatland community think science most urgently needs to resolve?

Working with a global network of more than 100 co-authors, my team ran an open survey in 21 languages and received responses from over 450 people across 54 countries. Participants included researchers, policymakers and practitioners. An independent panel then prioritised the responses, producing 50 questions for peatland science over the next decade. What emerged was not just a set of narrow technical questions. It showed a discipline that is changing fast.

Some priorities were surprisingly fundamental. Participants highlighted the need to map peatlands better, especially in poorly surveyed tropical regions (the Congo peatland is an excellent illustration of this point), and to improve estimates of global carbon storage and greenhouse gas emissions. Others focused on how peatlands will respond to climate change: whether drought, fire and warming could push some peatlands past tipping points where they release more carbon than they store.

Restoration was another major concern. There is already broad agreement that conserving intact peatlands and rewetting drained ones are essential for climate and biodiversity goals: at least 30 million hectares of degraded peatland need to be rewetted by 2030 as a first step towards meeting climate change targets. But restoration is not one simple recipe. A damaged upland bog in Britain is different to a drained tropical peat swamp forest in Indonesia or a permafrost peatland in the Arctic. What works in one place may not translate neatly to another.

Peat, power and people

Just as striking was how often people raised questions about communities, livelihoods, power and fairness. Peatlands are not empty landscapes waiting to be fixed.

In many places they are lived in, worked and culturally significant. Participants asked how local and Indigenous knowledge can shape restoration, how wet agriculture “paludiculture” (farming crops on rewetted peatlands or wetlands) and other peatland livelihoods might work in practice, and whether the benefits of carbon finance and conservation will actually reach local communities.

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Your next puffer jacket could be made from bulrushes, as carbon-storing peat farming takes off

So peatland science is no longer just about describing these ecosystems. It is increasingly about decisions: which peatlands are protected, which are restored, how land is used, who bears the costs and who benefits.

Our study has limits. Most respondents were researchers, and some peatland-rich regions and perspectives were less well represented than others. So this is not a final blueprint for what peatland science should look like everywhere. But it does offer a community-informed snapshot of where the biggest gaps now lie.

For a long time, peatlands were treated as marginal, soggy places at the edge of more useful land. Peatlands are now becoming central to climate regulation, water security, biodiversity and the livelihoods of many people who live on and around them.

Pulling peat from the ground means touching material that has been building up for millennia. It is a reminder that these landscapes work on timescales much longer than our own. But the decisions that will shape their future are being made now, and they will help decide not only whether peatlands remain a climate buffer or become another source of instability, but also who gets to benefit from their protection and restoration in the future.

A bus stop was damaged during the crash.

A busy Cambridge road is blocked after a crash on Tuesday (April 28). Cambridgeshire Police were called at 8.47am after reports of a crash involving two cars on Milton Road.

Officers and paramedics are currently at the scene. The junctions of Milton Road, Elizabeth Way, and Highworth Avenue have been closed.

The Ascham Road bus stop was damaged during the crash, pictures from the scene show. One of the glass panels smashed leaving shards over the pavement.

Stagecoach East has confirmed there will be delays to its services that use Milton Road. A Stagecoach East spokesperson said: “#Cambridge PR5 Due to an incident on Milton Road delays are imminent, please allow more time for your journey.”

A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire Police said: “We were called at 8.47am today (28 April) to reports of a two-vehicle collision on Milton Road. Officers and paramedics are at the scene, and the junctions of Milton Road, Elizabeth Way and Highworth Avenue are currently closed.”

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And the force’s dispatch operators are said to play a critical role by co-ordinating the response to the most serious incidents in Bolton, and across the city region.

They are responsible for managing resources and ensuring incidents are responded to quickly and safely, for response officers on patrol.

In the past year the police were called to 141,000 grade one incidents – where an emergency risk to life has been identified – with an average attendance time of seven minutes and 49 seconds.

Dispatch officer (Image: GMP)

Every call is first assessed by highly trained call handlers, who gather vital information, assess risk and prioritise incidents in the Force Contact, Crime and Operations Branch (FCCO).

Once assessed, incidents are passed to dispatch operators, the unseen co-ordinators who ensure officers are deployed and respond where they are needed most across the force area.

In a 24 hour period, dispatch operators can deal with up to 500 grade one emergency incidents and around 350 grade two priority incidents, highlighting the pace and responsibility carried by the role.

From routine deployments to major, fast moving incidents, dispatch operators maintain oversight of what is happening on the ground across the region.

They monitor live incidents, update officers with new information as it becomes available, and continually assess risk as situations develop.

Working under pressure, dispatch operators make time critical decisions and provide vital support to frontline officers, helping to ensure the public receives the right response at the right time.

Dispatch officer (Image: GMP)

Where an incident response time is likely not to be met, the dispatch operators have key responsibility for re-assessing the incident, performing service calls to members of the public to ensure they are safe, and to establish if there are any further notable updates that may exacerbate the risk – all with the public in mind to ensure they are safe.

They also play a critical role in looking after the welfare of officers on the frontline, ensuring we know where our officers are, that they have enough officers at scene on an incident to safely deal, and securing them emergency back-up from other officers nearby.

The dispatch team also have a key responsibility for liaising with partner agencies such as control room operators at North West Ambulance Service, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, local authorities, social services and partner forces to ensure that incidents are effectively responded to if it requires a multi-agency approach.

For those who do the job, the role is demanding but deeply rewarding.

Andy Martin, a dispatch operator with more than 21 years’ experience in FCCO, said: “I’ve seen the role evolve massively over the years, but the heart of it has always stayed the same – supporting officers and keeping the public safe.

“What I love most is seeing new people come in, find their confidence and grow into the role.

“Knowing you’ve played a part in helping someone develop, while also making a real difference to incidents happening in real time, is something you never lose sight of. It still feels like a privilege to do this job.”

Behind every response, every deployment and every officer sent to an incident, FCCO dispatch operators are working tirelessly to keep Greater Manchester moving safely, proving that while they may not always be seen, their impact is felt across the force every single day.

Another operator, Tom McNish, who is three years into his policing career, highlighted the pace and sense of purpose that comes with the role:

He said: “Every shift is different. You’re right in the middle of the action, assisting officers, solving problems and making sure the right decisions are taken quickly.

“It’s intense, but that’s what I love, you feel part of the response. Working in FCCO has given me a real understanding of policing, and my ambition to one day become a police officer has grown so much within this role.”

King Charles and Donald Trump shared warm and often light-hearted toasts during an otherwise formal state dinner at the White House on Tuesday evening, as the King and Queen Camilla concluded day two of their royal visit to the US.

Both remarked on their deep historical and cultural ties, with King Charles teasing Trump that he might have been “speaking French” if it were not for Britain’s historical role.

“Indeed, you recently commented, Mr President, that if it were not for the United States, European countries would be speaking German,” the King said.

“Dare I say that, if it wasn’t for us, you’d be speaking French…!”

Charles gifted the president a bell from his namesake the HMS Trump, a submarine that was launched from a UK shipyard in 1944 during World War II, and joked that the president could always “give us a ring”.

Trump called King Charles III’s earlier speech to Congress “fantastic” and even jokingly called the King “cute.”

Speaking at the US Congress, Charles emphasised the importance of alliances including Nato and urged continued global engagement.

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King Charles meets US tech leaders to discuss startup challenges

King Charles met ​with US tech leaders on Tuesday as part of his four-day state visit, discussing challenges for early-stage startups as the UK touts itself as a ⁠top destination for technology firms.

Among the leaders Charles met with were Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Advanced Micro Devices CEO Lisa Su, Salesforce CEO ⁠Marc Benioff and Alphabet President Ruth ​Porat.

Charles ⁠noted issues facing companies formed from work at universities and the difficulty of those startups getting funding. “These ⁠are the people I always think have the ​greatest difficulty ⁠getting off the ground,” ‌he told the CEOs.

“They get into this terrible valley of death.”Huang noted big areas of opportunity, such as ‌AI and quantum robotics: “We just need a ‌vibrant VC ecosystem and a startup culture,” he told the King, referring to venture capital.

Charles responded, “You’re all deadly competitors,” to laughter.

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Huang joked ⁠back: “No one has to die.” King Charles responded, “Really?” to more laughter.

Bezos recounted starting Amazon in 1995 and that he struggled to raise $1m from investors, $50,000 at a time, and noted 40 said no.

The King responded, “And all those 40 are kicking themselves,” to wide laughter.

Charles compared people who ‌passed up investing in Amazon to the Harry ​Potter books and how many publishers turned down ‌the book.

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Shweta Sharma29 April 2026 07:12

King Charles’ full schedule for third day of US state visit

King Charles III and Camilla are set to embark on the third day of their historic state visit to the United States, which many hope will repair a weakening “special relationship”.

On Wednesday, Charles and Camilla are due to travel to New York, where they will visit the 9/11 memorial ahead of the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

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During their visit, they will also meet with first responders and families of those who were killed that day.

As part of a visit to the New York Public Library’s permanent treasures collection, the Queen will give a specially made toy of Winnie-the-Pooh character Roo to the library to complete a set of the beloved characters in one of the institution’s collections.

The library is home to the teddy bears which belonged to Christopher Robin, son of Winnie-the-Pooh creator A A Milne, believed to have inspired the stories first published in 1926.

While Winnie, Tigger, Piglet, Kanga and Eeyore are all on display, the original baby kangaroo toy, Roo, was lost in an apple orchard in the 1930s.

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The Roo toy was made specifically for the visit by traditional British teddy bear makers Merrythought, who produced the original toys.

Shweta Sharma29 April 2026 07:00

Shweta Sharma29 April 2026 06:41

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‘If it wasn’t for us, you’d be speaking French,’ King jokes

King Charles brought a touch of wit to the White House state dinner, joking that Donald Trump might well have been “speaking French” if it were not for Britain’s role in history.

“Indeed, you recently commented, Mr. President, that if it were not for the United States, European countries would be speaking German,” the King said.

“Dare I say that, if it wasn’t for us, you’d be speaking French…!”

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He quickly adds that “of course, we both love our French cousins greatly”.

The remark, delivered with a smile, drew laughter from the room and offered a brief moment of humour to the otherwise serious visit amid strained ties between the US and UK.

Shweta Sharma29 April 2026 06:12

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Charles gives president a bell from ‘HMS Trump’ submarine

King Charles struck a lighter note with his choice of gift for the president, presenting Donald Trump with the bell from a former British Navy submarine that turns out to have been his namesake.

As the King revealed the gift – a bell from HMS Trump, a WW II-era submarine launched in 1944 – the King said: “May it stand as a testament to our nation’s shared history and shining future.”

“And should you ever need to get hold of us,” he added, “just give us a ring.”

Shweta Sharma29 April 2026 05:45

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King Charles touts US-Europe alliance amidst Trump’s repeated threats to leave Nato

Shweta Sharma29 April 2026 05:32

Watch as President Donald Trump greeted King Charles and Queen Camilla at White House for state dinner

Katie Hawkinson29 April 2026 05:00

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White House state dinner ends with ceremonial band send-off

The state dinner hosted by president Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump for King Charles III and Queen Camilla is drawing to a close at the White House.

A military band has taken centre stage, filling the room with a final flourish of music.

The band played The Music of the Night from The Phantom of the Opera for guests still seated at the tables.

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Shweta Sharma29 April 2026 04:53

Trump says King agrees with him on Iran as British monarch stays silent

At a glittering state dinner at the White House, Donald Trump brought an unexpected edge to the evening, by saying the British monarch agrees with him on Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Speaking to guests, Trump struck a confident tone about developments in the Middle East.

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“We’re doing a little Middle East work right now and we’re doing very well,” he said.

He went on to claim military success against the adversary, adding that the US would “never” allow that opponent to obtain a nuclear weapon – and pointedly suggested that King Charles shared that view.

“Charles agrees with me even more than I do,” Trump quipped, before reiterating that Iran would not be allowed to develop nuclear arms.

In his ‌own comments after Trump spoke, Charles did not speak about Iran or the Iran war.

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As a constitutional monarch, he does not speak on behalf of the British government, and his comments remained focused on broader themes rather than geopolitics.

Instead, he offered a more measured reflection on global security, acknowledging tensions within Nato, stressing the importance of continued US support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, and warning against the risks of isolationism.

Despite the diplomatic tightrope on display, there is a longstanding alignment between the UK and the US on one key point: both countries maintain that Iran must not acquire nuclear weapons.

Shweta Sharma29 April 2026 04:27

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ICYMI: Trump cracks awkward marriage joke to Melania with King Charles watching after Jimmy Kimmel ‘widow’ uproar

Andrew Feinberg29 April 2026 04:20

The applicant hopes that the machine would mean reduced waiting times, prevent unnecessary journeys and be convenient for patients to collect medicines when they want

Plans for an automated prescription collection machine outside a health centre have been submitted to Fenland District Council. Permission has been sought to install a Pharmaself24 machine outside The Riverside Practice and the pharmacy on Marylebone Road in March.

If approved, it would allow patients to collect prescriptions from the dispensing unit at their convenience to reduce waiting times and improve pharmacy workflow. The application states that the collection point would allow the pharmacy to reduce the need for home deliveries, reducing its carbon emissions.

The application says: “The benefits to the customers are reduced waiting times, avoiding unnecessary journeys and allowing the convenience to collect medicines when they want (for example on their way to or from work, shift workers, carers and on Sundays etc). This is particularly useful for repeat prescriptions and working patients who are unable to collect prescriptions during opening hours.”

Pharmacy staff dispense the medicines as normal and then load the dispensed bags securely into the machine using barcode technology. To collect their prescriptions, patients would be notified that their prescription is ready and provided with a one-time-use-only PIN number, rather than any patient details, to collect the medicine.

According to the plans, it only takes a few seconds. The collection PIN numbers would be provided to the customers by SMS message.

The plans describe the Pharmaself24 as a self-contained, secure, vandal-resistant, machine. It would be fitted into the wall of the pharmacy and feature the business logo, a touch screen, credit card reader, and collection flap.

The collection flap is automatically locked when patients are not collecting the prescriptions and the machines have a capacity of up to 180 dispensing bags. The machine would not be loaded with controlled drugs including all Schedule 2 or Schedule 3 medicines that fall under the normal safe custody requirements.

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Antoine Griezmann’s significance at Atletico Madrid goes far beyond his numbers. He is regarded as their greatest player, not just a goalscorer, but more importantly as the most complete expression of what the club stands for.

Simeone spoke about him with genuine emotion, even saying he loves him. Thierry Henry thanked him publicly a couple of weeks ago for everything he has given to football. He is not just a likable character with a very positive leadership style, but someone that makes everyone around them better.

For a whole generation of fans, Griezmann is Atletico. Apart from his two-year spell at Barcelona, he has been the constant reference point, the face of the team. His return, after a difficult and unpopular departure, could have been complicated, but the way he came back, apologised, and reconnected with the fans only strengthened that bond.

Griezmann embodies the perfect Simeone player – total commitment, relentless work-rate, and the willingness to put his talent at the service of the team. He sacrifices, he leads by example, as well as fully embracing the manager’s authority – you don’t always see that from a World Cup-winner in a team that rarely secures the biggest trophies.

Interestingly, his time hasn’t been defined by a long list of silverware – he has won the Spanish Super Cup, the Europa League and the Uefa Super Cup with Atletico.

Instead, his legacy is built on something else that will remain for a long time. He represents the ideal Atletico footballer, someone who combines quality with effort.

But also someone who could have gone to other pastures as well as Barcelona, alhough when he did, he felt he had left home.

The Grand Wedding Fayre, organised by Diamond Events, will be held at Middlesbrough Town Hall on Sunday, May 10, from 1pm to 4pm and promises some of the region’s finest wedding suppliers.

Bernie Sowa from Diamond Events said: “We have been hosting wedding fayres at Middlesbrough Town Hall since 2010 and it is one of our favourite venues as it is easily accessible for everyone.

Previous fayre held at Middlesbrough Town Hall (Image: Diamond Events)

“The event has a real buzz and this year we have added a sale zone in the venue’s Fire Station where bridal, bridesmaids and flower girl dresses can be purchased on the day from as little as £10 so it’s a must for couples on a tight budget.”

The Grade II-listed Town Hall, which is 136 years old, serves as a popular wedding venue and is home to the Middlesbrough Register Office, hosting hundreds of ceremonies each year.

Couples attending the event will be able to browse a wide range of wedding essentials, including dresses and suits, venue dressing, flowers, photography, and transport options.

Previous fayre held at Middlesbrough Town Hall (Image: Diamond Events)

There will also be live music, welcome drinks, entertainment, and prize giveaways throughout the afternoon.

Rachel May, principal business support and development officer for the Register Office at Middlesbrough Council, said: “The fayre is the perfect opportunity for couples to come and see what Middlesbrough Register Office has to offer.

“Couples will be able to take in the grand setting of the Town Hall and view the building’s stunning interior in addition to the beautiful ceremony rooms.

“Our professional team will also be on hand to answer any questions.”

Previous fayre held at Middlesbrough Town Hall (Image: Diamond Events)

A special “sale zone” will offer attendees the chance to purchase dresses and outfits at discounted prices, with some items available for as little as £10.

Entry to the event is free, and Brides who pre-register will receive a VIP Goody Bag.

Brides can pre-register by visiting the Eventbrite website.

Suppliers interested in exhibiting can get in touch via the Diamond Events UK website.

Nathan Sno has made a name for himself in restaurants across London, Australia and the US but he is coming home to Belfast to make his dreams of opening his own business a reality.

The Northern Irish chef is preparing to open a new food concept on Belfast’s busy Lisburn Road, which he hopes will “disrupt the industry” and bring a fresh new feel to healthy fast food in the city.

VINE, opening on May 8, was born from Nathan’s own relationship with food and learning its value in his life. The restaurant’s aim is to become a new standard for everyday eating – rooted in health, flavour and culture.

READ MORE: From 1630 licence to modern nightlife complex: How White’s Tavern became an unstoppable Belfast powerhouseREAD MORE: Co Tyrone business owner says being named in Forbes 30 Under 30 is ‘absolute dream’

Speaking to Belfast Live, Nathan shared the realities of preparing to open a hospitality business in the city, how his passion for food shaped his life and his excitement to share his VINE concept with the people of Northern Ireland.

“VINE is built around solving a problem where most people want to eat well and feel great, but the current options force you to compromise between health, taste, and convenience,” he explained.

“Fast food became convenient but low quality. Healthy food became niche and inconvenient. VINE sits in the middle to redefine how it’s served and how it tastes.

“It was really born from my own experience. I used to have a very bad relationship with food, Most of my life I was overweight and never felt good about my body.”

Nathan explained that despite training and working hard on himself, his lack of understanding about the diet aspect of his life kept him back from his goals without even realising.

He continued: “Around 2019, I realised if I don’t feel good, I can’t do good. So I started taking both my physical and mental health seriously and when I did, my life changed drastically in every area and a lot of that came down to what I was putting in my body and my environment.

“Not in any sort of extreme or restrictive way, but with understanding and intention.

“Beyond the food, I started to realise how much your environment shapes you. The people you’re around, the spaces you spend time in, it all impacts how you think, how you feel, how you live.

“So while VINE is rooted in food it’s equally about creating an environment where the right people end up in the same room. People who care about how they live, how they feel, and how they show up.”

Before there was VINE or a chef working in Michelin Star establishments, there was a little boy who fell in love with food while watching his mum in the kitchen.

“Food was always a big part of our house. I lived with my mum she worked a lot but she cooked properly every day, no matter what,” Nathan added.

“In my family, food wasn’t just something we ate, it was also how we showed care and spent time together.

“I started working in a kitchen when I was 11 – I just wanted to work and make my own way do something for myself so after pleading for a long time, my mum gave in and got me a job as a dishwasher and I worked my way up from there.

“Since that I was hooked. I was never academic, a little rebellious and rough around the edges, but food was one thing I could do that made people happy.”

His passion for food took him around the globe and to some of the “most exciting” kitchens in the world, becoming a head chef at a restaurant in Australia when he was only 20 years old, before stepping back to enter the world of Michelin Star dining.

Nathan continued: “I reached sous chef at 1 Michelin star in Mayfair and over about 3 years, I completed stages across more than 20 Michelin-starred restaurants around the world, including The French Laundry, Eleven Madison Park, Frantzén and Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester.

“Those environments taught me standards at a level I never knew existed, it was invigorating – I learnt discipline under immense pressure but more importantly, I learnt about respect for ingredients, process and the craft of cooking.

“What I took from it wasn’t just how to cook at a high level it was a way of working and thinking and a level of care and detail that most don’t consider, and that is exciting when you get to share it with others.”

Six years ago, he stepped away from the kitchens to found Food Story Media, a global creative business built around the idea that food is more than a product. His company has worked internationally across hospitality and global brands, shaping how food is experienced and understood beyond the plate.

But it was while he was working in the high-end restaurants that got the wheels turning in his head into what would eventually become the concept behind VINE – “why does the highest standard exist at the top end, but disappear in what people eat every day?”

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VINE’s menu is built around bowls where customers can choose from signature bowls or build your own – choosing high-quality proteins, sides and sauces.

Nathan explained that it is “wholesome and flavour-driven food that makes you feel good” and will go beyond the idea of a typical salad bar.

“It’s simple on the surface but everything is made from scratch,” he added. “We don’t buy anything in and take no shortcuts. Every ingredient is there for a reason.

“The goal is that you can eat this food every day and feel good doing it.

“There’s a strong food scene here, but when it comes to premium, health-focused food, there’s still a gap. We’re here to raise that standard.”

With just over two weeks until VINE opens on the Lisburn Road, Nathan has been documenting the reality of starting a restaurant online with his followers.

“It’s been tough. It’s two steps forward, one step back most days.

“There’s a lot that people don’t see – long days, constant problem solving, things going wrong and having to fix them quickly.

“People see the end result, but not what it takes to get there. It’s not glamorous, it’s relentless. But that’s what it takes to build something that actually matters,” he explained.

“I feel more focused than I ever have. There’s pressure, but it’s the kind of pressure that comes from caring deeply and stepping into something that I’ve trained for my whole life.

“We open on the 8th of May, and it feels very real now. My mum actually messaged me the other day and reminded me that I’d been talking about opening a restaurant since I was 10 years old.

“After all the adventure and travels around the world, it feels like I’ve come back to what I was always meant to do.”

Looking ahead to opening, he said that he thinks customers will get what VINE is about from the minute they walk through the door – food, energy, people and culture.

He concluded: “VINE is for people who live with intent and care about how they show up in their life. It won’t be for everyone but for the people it is for, it will make complete sense.

“Our mission is to make living well the standard, not the exception. So this is just the beginning.”

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