[2] O'Hare had previously worked as the head chef at The Blind Swine in York, but considered Leeds a more suitable location for high-end dining and opened The Man Behind The Curtain in 2014.

[3][4] The restaurant was located on Vicar Lane above Flannels clothes shop and took its name from a line in The Wizard of Oz - 'pay no attention to that man behind the curtain'.

[8] The restaurant seated up to forty people and was decorated in artwork by O'Hare's friend Schoph and featured sculptures by Gareth Griffiths.

"[1] After opening, The Man Behind The Curtain soon gained a reputation for very modern and often unusual dishes, including olives wrapped in edible cellophane, salt and vinegar ox cheek, and chocolate pudding and pork rinds.

[9][10] Writing in The Guardian in 2015, Marina O'Loughlin said "there are items that jar" but "if a chef can put a silky foam of potato laced with puffed wild rice on top of an elaborate chocolate dessert and have you laughing out loud as you fight over it (turns out it’s scented like a salt and vinegar crisp), he’s doing something very right.