Why I'm Launching emba – and Why I Need Your Help
This past year has been one of the toughest of my career. Like so many others in hospitality, I’ve had to take a long, honest look at the road ahead. I asked myself: do I still want to do this? Do I have the energy to keep going in this industry that’s changed so much? And if I do, what would that look like?
After some serious soul-searching, I found my answer—I’m not done. I love what I do far too much to walk away now. I’m not ready to give up on my dream, and that's why I’m creating emba.
emba is more than just a new venue—it’s a return to my roots and a leap forward at the same time. It’s a place where I can cook the food I truly love to eat, surrounded by a team I believe in and a community who values warm hospitality and appreciates and know high quality food and drinks when they see them.
This concept has been brewing in my heart for a while: a vibrant, relaxed gastrobar where great food full of bold flavours meet real warmth. It blends the comfort of a cosy pub, the energy of a bar, and the satisfaction of properly good cooking—served without any of the fuss or formality.
We have the perfect space, just four minutes from Leeds station, tucked beside Granary Wharf, directly on the canal side. Now, we just need a little help to make it everything it can be. We’re not building a restaurant from scratch, but the transformation still requires investment—especially to bring the heart of emba, the open kitchen and charcoal grill, to life. It’s a big ask, but it’s also a big dream—and if you can help us get there, I promise it’ll be worth it.
emba is the most personal project I’ve ever taken on, and your support would mean the world.
Tell me more about emba
emba is my brand new concept: a relaxed gastrobar with an emphasis on the excellent food I've built a reputation for, served alongside a broad drinks offering and a soundtrack of great music—sometimes delivered live by DJs.
I'm going to try and bridge the gap between cosy bar and vibrant dining room, combining the ambiance of a taproom, the elegance of a wine/cocktail bar and the warmth and sense of community you get from your favourite local pub. There are NO RULES, the menu is flexible, designed to suit whatever you're in the mood for—whether it's a snack with drinks, a satisfying lunch or a slow, indulgent set menu with wine pairings.
Expect delicious food and drinks, great music, and top-notch service—without any faff.
I’m choosing to cook the food I love to eat: bold flavours, plenty of fat and fire, and that comforting sense of familiarity. My team and I have built a reputation for unpretentious, attentive, and genuinely warm service—and that same high standard is coming with me to emba.
The beer and wine selection will always evolve to keep things fresh and interesting. We will offer over ten craft beers and ales on tap, with even more in the fridge and the wine list will feature standout bottles across a wide range of styles and price points. I've also turned my attention to cocktails. As well as the classics, I'm having a lot of fun creating a few house specials to sit alongside.
How We're Rewarding Your Help
When you back emba, you’re not just giving us a hand—you’re becoming part of the story. That’s why we’ve created a set of genuinely brilliant rewards to say thank you. Whether you fancy a long lunch, want your name on the art wall, or exclusive VIP dinners and behind-the-scenes access, there’s something for everyone.
Our Founder Memberships are the heart of it all. Each one is packed with real value—exclusive discounts, birthday treats, food vouchers, menu preview dinners, and invites to our favourite events of the year. They’re designed to make you feel like this place is yours, whether you’re a regular, a local, or part of a team looking for a creative space to connect.
From early access to sneak peeks, we want you to feel the love, all year long.
What's on the menu?
The format I’ve created ensures that great cooking and bold flavours show up in every kind of dish. If you opt for the tasting menu, you’ll get slightly more refined versions — but across the board, the focus is flavour and satisfaction. Presentation will be much simpler that what I've served before.
You can snack on wood-fired toasts topped with things like smoked bone marrow and garlic, beef tartare, or confit garlic butter (spread thick enough that you’ll see your teeth marks in it after a bite), topped with lemon zesty anchovies. There’s also warm shrimps in brown butter, crab rarebit, and my mum’s favourite: Fried Tomato Dip.
When it comes to the plates — small, large, and for sharing — expect dishes like kaffir crab soufflé, sticky lamb sweetbreads with wild garlic and smoked yogurt sauce, spatchcock chicken with garlic bread, chilli and mandarin sauce, lobster tail with chicken fat and tarragon butter, rack of lamb with red walnut pesto, and rib-eye steak served with your choice of sexy sauces.
Desserts are going to be fun. I’m bringing out all the favourites—but with a few surprises thrown in for good measure. Sticky toffee doughnuts served with vanilla cream and koji caramel sauce, rhubarb cheesecake–knickerbocker, pistachio and dark chocolate bread and butter pudding with cherry molasses ice cream
What we need the money for
Although we are not creating a full restaurant and bar from scratch, we really do need some help.
Creating a space that feels warm, welcoming, and full of personality—while also being highly functional—requires a thoughtful approach to interior design. As the new concept combines both dining and drinking experiences, a key feature will be a well-equipped, central bar. Elements such as the bar itself, beer taps, and a cellar for storing and serving our craft ales represent a significant investment.
From experience, I know how important it is to connect the kitchen with the dining area. Perhaps the most crucial benefit is that a tightly connected team is essential for delivering exceptional service, and that relies on strong communication. Incorporating part of the kitchen into the front-of-house space is therefore vital—it allows us to work seamlessly together and deliver the very best experience for our wonderful guests.
The most expensive item on our re-fit list will be a charcoal grill that will form a central part of our offering at Emba. Visibly placing the kitchen in the main dining and drinking space also reinforces our commitment to the food side of what we do. We're serious about the quality and craft behind our food, so showcasing the kitchen plays an important role. To make this possible, we’ll be redesigning the kitchen and creating additional kitchen space, which will require significant structural changes and specialist equipment.
With so much glass and high ceilings in the space, the heating and cooling systems need to be upgraded to ensure guests stay comfortable year-round, no matter the weather outside.
Outside, our incredible location and view deserve to be enjoyed. We’d love to install tables and chairs to make the most of those sunny days and offer guests an inviting outdoor experience. The terrace is a peaceful and picturesque spot to watch the world sail, jog, cycle and wander by. If we raise enough, we aim to create an indoor-outdoor space with outdoor BBQ, comfy chairs and smokeless fire pits.
Risks and challenges
We have extensive experience in renovating and launching restaurants, having opened new locations and relocated existing ones several times. This has allowed us to build strong relationships with reliable contractors and develop a robust project management process. While we anticipate that some elements may take slightly longer than expected—as is often the case with build projects—we’ve accounted for potential delays in our planning to ensure everything stays on track.
Background
I didn’t take the traditional route into the world of food. A former corporate strategist, I sort of stumbled onto the culinary scene after appearing on MasterChef in 2016. A year of pop-ups and a residency at a city centre hotel later, I opened HOME in Leeds in 2017. I wanted the restaurant to redefine what dining could mean in the North, bringing a relaxed, warm approach to what people knew as ‘fine dining.’ With no formal culinary training, I built a team, a strong brand, and delivered a vision that earned critical acclaim—getting reviewed in The Times just a couple of weeks after opening and receiving a Michelin Plate within its first year
I then launched The Owl, a gastropub located in the iconic Kirkgate Market, directly opposite HOME, to explore a different approach to British cuisine. My parents were publicans, so I grew up in pubs as a child. This experience together with accompanying my mum on regular trips to the market, inspired me to open the first pub in Kirkgate Market with a focus on accessibility, sustainability, and community. Deeply connected to my Yorkshire roots and working-class upbringing, The Owl became a firm favourite in the city. For me personally, it was a place where I could blend my heritage with a way of feeding people that felt both authentic and personal.
A pandemic and unforeseen access issues led us to leave our beloved, quirky converted market stall and relocate to Lockside, next to Granary Wharf. We’ve had some great years here, and while I’ve been running HOME, Mark Owens has done an exceptional job of creating and serving some of the city’s best food to our customers. With Mark moving on, I’ve had to ask myself what I’d love—not just like—to do next, and the honest answer was to create a new venue that captured the energy, sentiment and atmosphere of The Owl’s home, but now wrapped around one of Leeds’ best locations, to create something new, different and importantly, truly close to my heart.
I’m deliberately returning to my roots—not just my culinary heritage, but the spirit of the Yorkshire pubs I grew up in. My new concept aims to blend the familiarity and warmth of the traditional public house with a bold, creative approach to food.
It will be a place for everyone, where old-world hospitality meets new-world flavour and contemporary style. Every detail—from the music to the menus—will carry my personal creative touch, hopefully followers of my food will be able to recognise my identity on every element of what we offer.
Guidelines on how we'll deliver your rewards
Physical rewards, such as our tote bag, will be posted out shortly after the successful campaign closed - Lunches & Dinners will be available to book from 1 weeks after the successful campaign has closed - Founder Memberships will be for 12 months from the opening date, discounts offered can not be used in conjunction with other discounts, vouchers or promotions. The Ticketed events, such as the Launch Dinner Event and Guest Chef event will be organised and details will be shared with you closer to the time. Birthday Meals - will consist of a three course menu of the chef's choice or the equivalent value off your bill.