Creativity runs in the Oldroyd family. Chef Tom Oldroyd is known for his reinvention of classic European dishes, first at Polpo, where he was chef-director, and now at his own restaurant, Oldroyd, which he opened in Islington in 2015. His flair for imaginative thinking is a trait he shares with his siblings, William, a director whose 2017 debut film Lady Macbeth was Bafta-nominated, and Olivia, who manages exhibitions at the V&A.
“We’re all pretty similar, really,” says Tom, 36. “All three of us have followed our passions and we’ve been lucky enough to make them into our careers.”
Their success means the pace of life is frenetic for all three, with each putting in long hours and William and Olivia often travelling for work. But the trio have remained remarkably close, making sure they carve out time to catch up with one another over a drink or a meal together.
“Tom lives round the corner from me in Hackney, so when we can, we’ll pop to the local pub for a quick pint,” says William, the eldest at 38. “Olivia is in Shepherd’s Bush, so when we’re all in London at the same time, we meet for Sunday lunch at Tom’s restaurant.” Tom’s style of cooking is ideal for a big family get-together. “I love food you can pass around and make conversation about,” he says.
If most siblings experience some degree of rivalry growing up, the Oldroyds insist that wasn’t the case for them. It’s not difficult to believe. They share a natural optimism, talk about one another’s achievements with obvious pride and say that, first and foremost, they’re friends. “We’re very supportive of one another, and we get on really well,” says Olivia, 35.
With two years separating each sibling from the next, there were inevitable squabbles during their childhood, but they were always a tight-knit unit. They grew up in Guildford, in a house opposite their primary school, where their mother was a teacher. Tom called her “Mrs Mummy”. Credit for their lack of competitiveness goes to their parents, who encouraged each of them to pursue their own interests.
“Will was always the most academic – he went to the local grammar school – whereas I had a short attention span and went to a state school,” says Tom. “But our mum and dad never pressured any of us to follow a particular path. They supported us in whatever we wanted to do. Will always had a passion for theatre and Olivia was always very artistic. I was looking for something creative, too.”
William went to Durham University to study theology, but while he was there, he realised directing was his calling. After moving to London, he worked as an assistant at the Almeida and the Barbican before winning a directing residency at the Young Vic theatre and going on to stage productions around the world.
Tom was initially unsure where his own passion would take him. “I always loved food, and watched Ready, Steady, Cook religiously growing up, but I didn’t want to be a chef,” he says. “I worked in hotels after leaving school and all I saw was chefs microwaving everything.”
William and Olivia have vivid memories of Tom’s teenage experiments in the kitchen. “He went through a phase of making pea soup all the time, and it was delicious,” says Olivia. “He always had the knack of being able to open the fridge and make something simple but lovely out of whatever was in there.”
It was after studying hospitality management as a mature student at Surrey University that Tom began working as a chef, getting a job at Alastair Little’s restaurant in Soho. When William went to eat there for the first time, he says: “I felt very proud to sit in a restaurant where Tom was cooking the food.” He worked his way up, then spent six months at trendy Italian restaurant Bocca di Lupo before being recruited as the head chef at Polpo, Russell Norman’s new venture, in 2009. As always, he included his siblings in his achievement.
“I remember us going to his flat and him cooking us a sample menu on the small hob, because he’s always wanted our opinion,” says William. “Equally, I often think of Tom and Olivia when I’m working – what they’d like. It stops me getting too lost in what I like.”
After her MA in history of art at Sussex University, Olivia joined them in London. Watching her older brothers work so hard to make their ambitions a reality made her more determined to fulfil her own. “Their work ethic is definitely the biggest thing I learned from them,” she says.
In 2013, the trio began living together in a house in Shepherd’s Bush, where they were joined by Olivia’s boyfriend and Tom’s fiancee, Meryl Fernandes, an actress and television presenter. “People did think it was a bit weird that we all lived together,” says Olivia with a laugh. “But it was great. We have a similar sense of humour and we have fun together.” William would come to her for advice on his love life, while Tom taught her how to season her cooking properly.
The arrangement lasted two years before Tom and William moved to east London. Tom now has a baby daughter with Meryl, who is overseeing the design of his new venture, a Hackney pub, The Duke of Richmond, where he’ll serve French dishes. Olivia is often out of the country preparing touring exhibitions and William is working on several early stage film projects.
However busy life becomes, they’ll always make time to support one another’s projects. “They’re so talented,” says William. “It’s fantastic to see the outcome of their hard work.”
