he might say yes or no – or give me suggestions on how to do something but he doesn’t come to me with a list of dishes, they are all my own creations.
Do you have a favourite dish on the menu at the moment?
Yes, one that I opened with which I’m going to keep on the menu and that’s a harissa glazed aubergine dish, with coconut yoghurt – it’s one of my favourites. I love aubergine and I love spicy food so it started with that but there’s a little inspiration from Chez Bruce and my time there. The coconut yoghurt is on there because I wanted a dairy element but not actual dairy as I wanted it to be a vegan dish. That’s served with chilli peanuts which are there for the texture to bring it all together.
Tredwell’s is casual dining not fine dining, do you prefer that?
I do prefer it yes. I wanted to get out of the Michelin star, fine dining scene – I wanted a change. I think you have a bit more leeway too. People do sometimes expect two Michelin-starred food at Tredwell’s because of Marcus’ name but I think people are starting to understand what we are about and it’s simple, casual food.
Is it difficult to step out of Marcus’ shadow?
Yes it is. We have to be completely different. He’s said no to things in tastings and I’ve had to say ‘Marcus this is not the Berkely.’ It is hard because we have Marcus, Chantelle and myself and all we know is fine dining, it’s a challenge but we all love a challenge!
You are head chef at Tredwell’s, how are you finding the role?
It’s great, I’ve worked with some brilliant head chefs in the past and I’ve learnt so much in regards to management and that side. I’ve learnt a lot more working with Marcus about the paperwork, as a sous chef you see a little bit of it but not as much as I do now. In the past six months I’ve built on my management skills and I’ve learnt about employing people, speaking to people and working with my sous chef to get the best out of the brigade.
What’s your biggest challenge been at Tredwell’s and how did you deal with it?
Staff I think. Finding the right people and managing them, while trying to open a kitchen – it’s very hard. Especially when Tredwell’s was so new and all the ideas were down on paper but they were also in my head, so it was difficult to train the commis chefs.
I had to make sure I was managing them correctly, I didn’t want them walking out because they were doing too many hours. It was all very stressful and busy but we got through it.
Is training important to you and for your team?
Absolutely! I can’t expect somebody to do what I want from a piece of paper. You need to be there beside them and show them what you want two or three times. Then you let them do it themselves but you still need to be there watching them.
Training is massively important in this kitchen, everyone always has a buddy from day one for a week, just so they have an understanding of what we want and they feel comfortable.
What are you looking for in the future? What are your hopes for Tredwell’s?
At the moment I just want it to get a good repertoire and grow the business from here. Obviously this is an independent restaurant, Marcus’ first not in a hotel so I want to get the name out there and produce good food. As a head chef I want to learn as much as I can, while I can, in development, management and food.
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