Richard studied at Bournemouth and Poole Catering College before entering the professional kitchens of Martin Blunos, Cheong Liew and Michel Roux Jr. His first head chef role was at Cavendish restaurant in Bath, where he earned three AA rosettes.

In 2007 Richard Allen started working at Jersey’s Grand Jersey Hotel – first as head chef of its Tassili restaurant and then as executive chef of the whole establishment. 2012 was Tassili’s bumper year, yielding the restaurant its first Michelin star and Richard the accolade of Hotel Restaurant Chef of the Year at the Craft Guild Chef Awards.

Richard stayed in Jersey until the beginning of 2015, when he moved back to England for a job at The Orangery at Rockliffe Hall in County Durham, just by the Yorkshire border. The five AA red star hotel, golf and spa resort is surrounded by beautiful countryside, and the restaurant achieved four AA rosettes under Richard's management in 2017.

The tasting menus at The Orangery are all about textures, temperature and taste, with local ingredients the main focus. Salt-aged Yorkshire duck comes paired with charred carrots and nasturtium, while freshly caught fish is brought to the kitchen every morning. Richard's favourite pastime is fishing, so you can expect the very best on his menus.