Head Chef and Co-Founder of Prawn on the Lawn, Little Prawn and Barnaby’s
Rick Toogood was born on the Channel Islands surrounded by fish. His mother trained at Cordon Bleu and her enthusiasm for food, particularly fish, was passed on to Rick. With a passion for food ingrained in his blood, Rick left a career in design and went on to manage various sites for Fishworks before realising his and wife Katie’s joint dream of owning their own restaurant.
Despite having had no formal food training, Rick and Katie spent considerable time sourcing dish inspiration from all avenues, visiting other restaurants around the world and spending days working for free at various fishmongers before opening their first Prawn on the Lawn in Islington in 2013.
Katie and Rick have since opened three further restaurants in Padstow. Another Prawn on the Lawn in 2015, followed by Barnaby’s in 2018 and Little Prawn in 2024. In 2019 POTL Padstow won the Caterer mag’s UK Seafood Restaurant of The Year award and has been featured in the Michelin guide for the last 6 years running.
Together they published their first cookbook in 2018, which was re-issued in 2021 with a brand new look. In 2023, Katie and Rick announced a brand new location for their second Padstow restaurant, Barnaby’s at Trevibban Mill which has since been recognised by Michelin in its annual guide. In June 2024, a summer pop-up Little Prawn opened offering a casual dining experience to guests, focused on fresh local seafood plates paired with punchy cocktails, and top-notch wines.
