Ben Lebus

How it started.

Ben grew up learning to cook from his father, who ran an Italian restaurant. At the University of Edinburgh, he noticed that his friends were far less confident in the kitchen. He wanted to give students and young professionals a place to find meals they could actually make, with early recipes designed to feed four for under £10.

Finding the Mob.

He filmed his first recipes in his parents’ kitchen in summer 2016 and launched Mob Kitchen that year. Growth was slow at first. He handed out recipe flyers and worked as a Deliveroo rider while trying to get the channel going. In a 2019 interview, he named the chicken gyros video as the first one that really took off. A new video style and music from emerging bands helped the recipes find an audience.

From videos to the bookshelf.

His first cookbook, MOB Kitchen, arrived in 2018 and was shortlisted for the André Simon food book award. Mob grew into a collective of chefs and creators, with later books credited to the team, including Mob One and Delicious Air Fryer.