Punell converted the Newhall Street eatery to Purnell's Bistro in September 2012 and replaced the head chef and restaurant manager. At the time he declared his aim to differentiate his two Birmingham businesses from each other.
BigHospitality recently sat down with the chef at his fine-dining restaurant Purnell's to discuss his plans for the future, his take on trends in restaurants and food and to discover the recipe for success which he hopes will deliver a second star.
Wrong direction
Looking back on The Asquith rebrand, the 37-year-old was candid about why he chose to close down the restaurant and re-open it with a new team at the helm.
"I felt the restaurant was going in the wrong direction in terms of the style of the food," said Purnell. "That was down to staff that could talk the talk but couldn't walk the walk, young people that have worked for me in the past.
"Basically the management went to their heads, they couldn't run the place properly, they didn't want to listen, they wanted to go off and do their own thing - it just came to the point where I thought enough is enough, it is losing money because you are not producing the product that I am asking you to produce.
"Now it is thriving. It is exactly what people want, what they didn't want was a mini Purnell's," he claimed.
Clearly a difficult period in his career, Purnell said he had been personally disappointed by the turn of events.
"It was frustrating for me because I had belief in some of these people but young people just don't want to listen," he said.
Birmingham foraging
In the interview, Purnell explained why he believed the problems at The Asquith were representative of some of the bigger issues in the industry including younger people who are, he said, less keen to make the journey up through the chef ranks with hard work.
It is eight years to the month since Purnell won the city its first Michelin star; four years ago he won a star for his eponymous restaurant. Though he said it did not frustrate him, Purnell explained why constantly being asked about whether he would venture from the Midlands to London was 'boring'.
Purnell also revealed his future plans, including some exciting irons in the fire, and gave his thoughts on how he could make the move towards being a two Michelin-starred chef. The trick, he said, was not to make changes or react to so-called trends but just 'be a better you'.
"One minute we are all cooking with liquid nitrogen, the next minute everyone is out foraging for, you know, stuff," he said.
"It is no good me putting foraged stuff on there (the menu), I am slap bang in the middle of the most industrial city in the country. I am not from the windswept Scandinavian landscape so I wouldn't have a fucking clue anyway.
"Like I have said before, if I go foraging in Birmingham I would find dog shit and crisp wrappers!"