Chef to Watch Award 2025

Maria Close joined Rockliffe Hall as Service & Development Chef in February 2024, alongside husband James Close as Culinary Director, as part of the resort hotel's journey to become world-class, gastronomy-focused destination.

Before Rockliffe Hall, Maria was Head of Pastry at the Raby Hunt near Darlington. Maria joined the Raby Hunt team in 2013 as a pastry chef after a chance dinner there. Wanting to extend her knowledge, she went to Japan on a culinary bursary programme, which involved a month at Le Cordon Bleu Tokyo and a stage at a three Michelin star restaurant. She returned to the restaurant in 2015 and progressed to Head of Pastry. In 2017, the restaurant was awarded two Michelin stars, making it the only two-star restaurant in the North East.

Maria had a non-culinary start to her career, studying Quality Control and Engineering Management. She found cooking a satisfying way to spend her free time and an international move then led her to a three-month course at Le Cordon Bleu London.