Mark Ernest Hix is an English chef and restaurateur whose traditional English menus often feature foraged and local foods. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hix was based in London, but announced in January 2021 that he would be relocating to Dorset permanently after five of his restaurants were put into administration. Early life Hix was born and raised in West Bay, Dorset. His parents divorced when he was six; while his brother Kevin went to live with their mother, their father had custody of Mark. His father was absent much of the time, so he spent a lot of time with his paternal grandfather, who was a jack of all trades: a chrysanthemum gardener, Bridport mayor, and bar owner. Hix decided to take domestic science rather than metalwork because he heard it was a good place to meet girls; to his surprise, he won a cooking award not long after. Though he considered becoming a professional golfer, he ended up attending the local Weymouth Culinary College instead. Career Hix moved to London from Dorset when he was 18 and his first job was in the staff canteen at the London Hilton on Park Lane. He had his first head chef position at age 22. Since then, he has worked at both The Ivy and Le Caprice, and became Caprice Holding's Chef Director in 1999. After 17 years with the company, he left in 2007 to open the successful Hix Oyster and Chop House near the Smithfield market with business partner Ratnesh Bagdai. Following the success of Chop House, Hix opened HIX Mayfair (previously The Abermarle), which opened inside Brown's Hotel in 2008 and closed in 2017; HIX Soho, opened in 2009 and closed in 2019; HIX Belgravia, opened in London's Hotel Belgravia in 2011 and closed the following year; and HIX City (previously Hixter City) in Devonshire Square, open 2013 to 2015. The City and Soho locations also featured a Mark's Bar. A third Mark's Bar, the first stand-alone location, opened at The Old Vic theatre in 2015 and closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. HIX has also operated a number of restaurants outside his main London HIX brand. In 2005, while still working for Caprice, Hix opened The Rivington Bar and Grill, which he operated anonymously until Caprice later bought the restaurant. It closed in 2017 and was replaced by the Blacklock Shoreditch. The Tramshed, also in