Martin Blunos

In 2016, Blunos became executive chef for Bespoke Hotels, initially at The Talbot Inn, Ripley, Surrey.

In 2010, Blunos became executive chef for Crown Hotels, owners of restaurants at Whitebrook and Celtic Manor. As part of his appearance at the Frome Cheese Show in September that year, Blunos developed what he hoped to be declared the world's most expensive cheese sandwich. It contained cheddar mixed with white truffles and sprinkled with edible gold dust, and cost £110.59. Crown subsequently began to manage the restaurant at The Parc hotel in Cardiff, owned by Thistle Hotels. The restaurant earned two AA Rosettes, but the partnership between Crown Hotels and Thistle Hotels ended in August 2011. The arrangement between Crown and Blunos ended in 2012 after catering was taken back in-house by Celtic Manor. Later that year, he was appointed as culinary director of the restaurants at the Hogarth Hotel in Dorridge, West Midlands. His appointment was part of a £4 million investment into the hotel by owners Helena and Andy Hogarth. He has also teamed up with the Devon-based Mad About Pies company, which launched a range of Martin Blunos Gastro Pub Pies to be stocked in Co-operative Food stores. It is part of an expansion by the company which looked to increase its production to 10,000 pies a week by the end of May 2012.

His son Max is the drummer for the band Out Like A Lion, and formerly for progressive rock band Zilch. Out Like A Lion played Glastonbury 2010 for BBC introducing; supported Florence and the Machine, The Temper Trap and Example; and been selected for Radio One playlist by Chris Moyles. Blunos enjoys clay pigeon shooting in his spare time, and feels that it enables him to refresh after working in the kitchen. Martin is also a Bristol City F.C. fan.

Blunos cooked for Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh whilst they were visiting Bath as part of the Golden Jubilee tour, in 2002. Following the closure of Lettonie, Blunos was kept busy for the next two years with television appearances and consultancy work for other restaurants. In 2004 Blunos took over as head chef of the Lygon Arms in Broadway, Worcestershire, gaining it a Michelin star and two AA Rosettes in 2005. His two-year contract at the Lygon Arms allowed him the freedom to appear on television and it was agreed that he wouldn't be required at the restaurant every day. He later became executive chef at Hurst House on the Marsh, Laugharne, West Wales, and was executive chef at the Reservoir in Charlton Kings, Cheltenham.

Blunos's first restaurant as chef and owner was Lettonie (French for Latvia) in Bristol, which opened in 1988 with a Franco-British style of cooking with some Eastern European elements. He had opened it with his then girlfriend, Siân, who would later become his wife. He earned his first Michelin star there in 1989, and a second in 1991. He felt at the time that his fellow chefs didn't give him much credit, as he wasn't well known prior to winning the accolades from Michelin. In 1997 he moved Lettonie to larger premises in his home town of Bath where he was assisted by James Tanner. He subsequently felt that he didn't get enough out of the Lettonie "brand", as at the time he felt that he couldn't run more than a single location. The restaurant closed in 2001 as he felt that as a chef-proprietor, he couldn't devote enough time to his family. It was the birth of his daughter that prompted the decision and thought that the only thing that kept his marriage together was that his wife also worked at the restaurant. He opened a new restaurant called Blinis, and his two Michelin star rating followed him to the new premises. In September 2002, the owners, Sebastian and Philippa Hughes decided to close the restaurant. Blunos launched a court case for unfair dismissal.

Martin Lauris Blunos (born 11 April 1960) is a British TV chef. Blunos earned two Michelin Guide stars at his restaurant Lettonie, first in Bristol and then in Bath.