Fred Smith, Flat Iron
Fred Smith
Head of Beef
Flat Iron

Beef has been Fred’s passion from a very young age, inspired by the birthday tradition of his father cooking him a steak each year. While his culinary expertise is broad, steak has remained a central focus throughout his career, featuring prominently on the menus of every kitchen he has trained in or led.

Over the course of thirteen years, Fred honed his skills in some of London’s top independent restaurants, where he built a strong reputation for serving outstanding beef. He went on to spend five years as Head of Food at Byron, specialising in hamburgers, before joining Flat Iron in 2017 as Head of Beef.

In his current role, Fred is responsible for sourcing a wide variety of beef products from numerous suppliers, including Flat Iron’s own herd of cattle. The company also operates its own in-house butchery, and Fred has authored the comprehensive Flat Iron Beef Bible. He believes that great steak, much like great wine, can take many forms and originate from a range of different places.