Bacon Butty S01E02 | Laura Greenfield, Field & Green

Laura Greenfield is Loud, Hungry, and Knows Exactly What She’s Doing

You don’t really interview Laura Greenfield, you just try to keep up 🤣

She’s fast-talking, funny, no-nonsense, and passionate about food (yes sorry the P word, we know). When she joined us on Bacon Butty, we covered everything from Jewish Friday night dinners in North London to cheese scones in Wellington, with side notes on kedgeree, burnt toast, and why she never wants to see another stack of accounts again.

And somehow, she made it all make sense.

“I wasn’t academic, but I understood food. I could look at a recipe and just get it. That gave me confidence… I didn’t really have that anywhere else.”

Laura never trained as a chef. She didn’t go to culinary school (she did end up teaching at one though,) and she didn’t wait for permission. She just started cooking and didn’t stop.

From the kitchens of Soho to running the café at Sotheby’s (yes, matching WEEKLY menus to art exhibitions), Laura built her skills in fast-paced, high-pressure spaces. But it wasn’t until she and her partner Rachel opened Field & Green in Wellington that things really clicked.

“Rachel asked what our values were. I said: cook food. Hope someone buys it.”

And people did buy it. For nearly ten years, Field & Green was a go-to for thoughtful, unpretentious food that felt like it came from somewhere real. Frequent menu changes. No shortcuts. Great service. Zero fluff.

There was a particular energy to the place, fuelled by Laura’s own restlessness and relentless drive to make things better, sharper, warmer.

It was also a performance—at least in spirit.

“Prepping is your rehearsal, and then the show starts. You’ve got an audience waiting, going: amuse me or make me something delicious. And if it’s good, you get a round of applause. If it’s not, you get tomatoes thrown at you”​.

For Laura, cooking is theatre: high-stakes, live, and immediate. That’s part of what drew her in. And it’s part of why Field & Green felt the way it did—precise, full of character, and always ready to respond to the people in the room.

“I’d run to the loo mid-service, hear someone say, ‘This is amazing’—that was my feedback system.”

The decision to close wasn’t sudden. It came slowly, and it came from them. The lease was up. The city had changed. So had they. And while the bookings still came (including 200 in the week they announced the closure), they knew it was time.

Now Laura’s back in someone else’s kitchen, clocking in, cooking, and clocking out.

“When something breaks, it’s not my problem anymore. I love it.”

But don’t mistake that for softening. She still cares. Still loves a bacon sandwich. Still has a lot to say about what makes good food and good people - great.

If you’ve ever worked in hospo, built something from nothing, or just really love toast with butter to the edges, this one’s for you.

🎧 Listen to Laura Greenfield Friday 18th April 2025 on the Bacon Butty podcast. Find it on Apple, Spotify or the extended version on Youtube.

Laura's Beigels