Two of the North East’s most influential chefs are set to team up for a special dining experience this spring – as Restaurant Hjem’s Alex Nietosvuori collaborates with Terry Laybourne.
The event, taking place at Hjem’s temporary residency at the South Causey Inn in County Durham on May 20, will see Alex and Terry create a unique tasting menu, each serving alternating courses that celebrate their shared commitment to exceptional ingredients, thoughtful cooking and the North East’s rich food culture.
The collaboration dinner offers guests a rare opportunity to experience the cooking of two chefs who have each played a defining role in shaping the region’s modern food landscape.
While Alex brought Northumberland its first Michelin Star in 2021, Terry made culinary history more than three decades earlier when he set up 21 Queen Street and became the first chef to win a Michelin Star in Newcastle in 1990.
Since then, he has become one of the region’s most respected restaurateurs, collecting numerous accolades including an Egon Ronay Star, Independent Restaurateur of the Year award, a Gold Taste of North East England Award, and an MBE for services to the hospitality industry.
Alongside his flagship restaurant 21, Terry’s restaurant group also runs The Broad Chare, St Vincent and Saltwater Fish Company.
The upcoming collaboration at Hjem reflects a long-standing friendship between the chefs. Terry has been a supporter of Alex and Ally Thompson-Nietosvuori since they opened Hjem in 2019. In the restaurant’s earliest weeks, he brought his 21 team to dine at the restaurant in Wall, and remained a regular visitor until its closure at the end of 2025.
It was also Terry who suggested the South Causey Inn as a possible home for Hjem’s current residency while Alex and Ally’s next project – Restaurant Freyja, currently under construction at Close House – takes shape.
For the collaboration event, Alex and Terry will present a tasting menu featuring dishes from each kitchen.
The menu will offer a glimpse of both chefs’ distinctive styles, with dishes such as a rich lobster bisque and delicate lobster carpaccio paired with pistachio and ajo blanco, alongside plates including fillet of turbot with caramelised onions, forest mushrooms and veal jus and Northumbrian Hill lamb en croute.
Alex said: “Terry has been incredibly supportive of us since the very beginning. When we first opened Hjem, having someone of his stature bring his whole team to dine with us meant a huge amount. He’s played such an important role in shaping the North East’s food scene, so to have the chance to cook together for an evening feels very special.”
Hjem’s restaurant manager and co-owner, Ally Thompson-Nietosvuori, added: “This region has such a strong sense of community within hospitality, and Terry has always been a big part of that. He’s been a generous supporter of what we’ve done from day one, so creating an evening like this together feels like a lovely way to celebrate that shared journey and offer guests the opportunity to enjoy what promises to be a really special night.”
Terry added: “When Alex and I first met, we clicked right away. I realised immediately that I’d found something of a soul mate – he’s not just a great chef but a fellow enthusiast, a student of great cooking, great produce and great restaurants. I find the generation gap fascinating and we continue to learn from one another.
“Over the years we’ve spent a fair bit of time travelling – more often than not to great restaurants – and at some point, the conversation invariably turns to ‘we should do something together one day’. Until recently we’ve been unable to make it happen, but Restaurant Hjem’s current residency at The South Causey Inn provides the perfect opportunity to finally make it happen.
“I admire Alex enormously – the creativity, the skill, the clarity of cooking… and then of course there’s the unbridled enthusiasm. I suspect it could be a very special evening.”
Hjem is currently operating from The Farmhouse at South Causey Inn for a six-month residency while Alex and Ally prepare to open Restaurant Freyja, their ambitious restaurant with rooms project at Close House in Wylam.
