Background
Purnell was born in Chelmsley Wood, a large council estate in Solihull.
Purnell was born in Chelmsley Wood, a large council estate in Solihull.
Described by the Birmingham Post as "undoubtably the finest chef to hail from Chelmsley Wood", he is the proprietor and Head Chef at Purnell"s restaurant in Birmingham, England, which was awarded a Michelin star in January 2009. His first experience working in a kitchen was when he did work experience at the Metropole Hotel at Birmingham"s National Exhibition Centre at the age of 14, returning for a six-year apprenticeship when he left school. Purnell"s career in fine dining started in 1996 when he joined Andreas Antona at Simpsons restaurant – then based in Kenilworth, Warwickshire – as chef de partie.
While at Simpsons he worked on placements with other notable chefs including Gordon Ramsay, Alistair Little and Gary Rhodes, and at restaurants in Lyon, Montpellier and the Basque Country.
In 2002 he worked for six months as sous chef at Claude Bosi"s Hibiscus restaurant in Ludlow, Shropshire. In 2003 Purnell was appointed to his first Head Chef role at Jessica"s in Edgbaston, Birmingham, which was awarded the first Michelin star given to a Birmingham restaurant in 2005, and was also named English "Restaurant of the Year" by the Associate of Arts the same year.
In August 2010 it was announced that Purnell would be opening a second restaurant – The Asquith, an "ambitious, neighbourhood restaurant" – in the premises of the former Jessica"s in Edgbaston. On 3 April 2011, The Asquith closed its doors due to a dispute with the buildings landlord before reopening in Birmingham city centre.