Silver's Deli: Leeds sandwich shop owner 'speechless' after welcoming 'the GOAT' Marco Pierre White

Marco Pierre White swung by Bramley this morning (Thursday) to try the goods at Silver’s Deli.

Owner Chris Riley said: “It was all a bit wild, to be honest.

“He’s ‘the guy’ in the culinary world. He was the first person to get three Michelin stars and then he gave them back. He trained Gordan Ramsay. He’s the GOAT!”

Mr Riley explained that he has been in regular contact with Leeds-born Pierre White for the last two weeks.

Mr Riley said: “He reached out on Instagram saying ‘I love what you do and I would love to send you some produce’.

“He’s recently acquired a smokehouse in Cumbria and rather than going through wholesales he’s hand-selecting who he wants to supply and we were one of those people.

“He sent some products and they were obviously incredible.

“I feel quite privileged. He’s only supplying places like Fallow and Sat Baines so to be on the list is absolutely wild.”

64-year-old Pierre White told Mr Riley that he would be in West Yorkshire last night (Wednesday) and asked if he could swing by.

“I obviously didn’t tell anyone it was going to happen”, said Mr Riley. “And then at 9 o’clock on the dot he came and we hung out, had some food and chatted.

“It was a bit of a shock and surreal. There were a few people including the owners of Cheesy Living Co.

“People were walking in going ‘what’s going on?’ and people at the traffic lights were staring.”

He said that Pierre White gave him some “chef’s tips” and they talked about the hospitality industry during his hour’s visit.

He added: “He’s seems very rock ‘n roll the way he talks. You can tell he’s just an old school chef.”

Pierre White enjoyed the Everything Sandwich from Silver’s Deli and “devoured” one of their sausage rolls “in 10 seconds”.

Mr Riley said: “It was mad. I’m quite nervous around new people which is why I was glad he came to the shop but it all felt quite natural.

“All the chat was around food. The guy’s extremely passionate about hospitality in general and he seems to be a big advocate for people trying to do something different.

“It didn’t feel like I had some superstar in the shop. People were asking to take pictures and he was fine.”

A video shared by the shop shows Pierre White chatting and using some choice language before telling the camera: “When the Michelin gives three stars they say ‘exceptional cuisine worthy of the journey’. Let me tell you something, I’ve travelled 300 miles to Silver’s in Leeds. Exceptional cuisine. Exceptional sandwich. Worthy of the journey.

“And can I say, there’s only one problem; it’s too cheap. So don’t complain. Just pay the bill!”

Mr Riley has also been invited to stay with Pierre White at the hotel he owns in Bath, where he also lives.

Mr Riley said: “His whole working life he lived in hotels and he fell in love with it so he bought his own.”

The Stanningley Road establishment opened two-and-a-half years ago and was named the Restaurant of the Year by Uber Eats last year.

Mr Riley said: “I’ve been in the industry all of my life. I’m absolutely obsessed with food and I’m a big believer that if you want to carve a niche in something you’re passionate about you can just do it.”

Pierre White was born in Leeds in 1961 and left Allerton High School without any qualifications before going on to train as a chef in Harrogate and Ilkley. He then started his classical training in London at Le Gavroche and became the youngest person to ever receive three Michelin stars at the age of 33.