Aaron Costen: Member of the Month June 2026

Aaron Costen, head chef at Pomus in Margate, is The Staff Canteen’s Member of the Month for June 2026.

As thanks for being a regular contributor to The Staff Canteen, A aron will receive a TSC mug, an item of merchandise from our online store, and be entered into our member of the year 2026 competition.

>>> Find out more about Aaron and follow him <<<

A member of The Staff Canteen since August 2016, Aaron’s route into the industry was not planned.

His early ambitions to become a dance teacher or an actor were scuppered by a heart operation aged 17. Finding himself at a loose end, Aaron walked into a kitchen and discovered something that gave him direction.

Since then, his career has taken him through hotels, tapas, pasta, Indian food, pubs, gastropubs, fine dining and restaurant openings. But after years of moving around and chasing new challenges, Aaron says he has found a home at Pomus.

“I’ve never worked anywhere else where there’s no stress in that kitchen,” Aaron said.

“I’ve got a great little team. There are three chefs in Margate, that’s it.”

Pomus is a British small plates restaurant in Margate, built around local suppliers, fire cooking and a menu that changes every month. Aaron joined as sous chef after meeting and instantly connecting with owner Ryan Jacovides, before stepping up to head chef when the opportunity came.

“What he said reflected what I believe and how I feel about the industry,” Aaron said.

“I joined the team initially as a sous chef, because being a head chef is hard work and I feel like you can get disconnected with the cooking, bogged down with paperwork and everything else.

“I just wanted to cook again. I said to him, over the last five years, I’ve kind of lost a bit of love for cooking, because I just wasn’t cooking.”

When the head chef left shortly after opening, Ryan asked Aaron if he would take the role.

“I was like, ‘I’ll do it as long as I can still cook,’” Aaron said.

“He was like, ‘yeah, absolutely. That’s what you’re good at. That’s what I want you to do, is cook.’

“So I was like, ‘okay, sweet, then I’ll do it.’ We haven’t looked back.”

An accidental start

Aaron’s first step into hospitality came by chance.

“It was a complete accident, to be honest,” he said.

“I wanted to be a dance teacher. That was my initial thing. I had a heart operation, so it kind of put an end to that.”

Around the same time as when he had a pacemaker fitted, Aaron was living with the head chef of The Phileas Fogg in Broadstairs, who suggested he come in to the restaurant and see how he felt.

“Instantly, as soon as I entered the kitchen, just the rush of the service and the heat and almost the aggression side of it, I was like, yeah, I could do this,” he said.

For Aaron, the kitchen arrived at a point in life when he needed structure.

“Life wasn’t the best then, that’s for sure,” he said.

“Life was wild, and I found the kitchen and it helped. It gave me a purpose.

“I wouldn’t change any of it, because I believe it has led me to here.”

Moving around before finding a home

After The Phileas Fogg, Aaron moved to the Abode Hotel in Canterbury, before deliberately taking on a wide range of kitchens and styles.

He worked in tapas, pasta, Indian restaurants during Covid, pubs, gastropubs and fine dining. He has also helped open five restaurants.

“I made an early decision that I wanted to be as well-rounded as I can,” he said.

“I like the unknown. Finding a team, training the team, coming up with the concept, and obviously on the opening week there are always issues with equipment and staff. I like that problem-solving element of it.”

But Pomus changed that pattern.

“That was until I met Ryan,” Aaron said.

“Then I kind of just found my home. That’s what it feels like. It feels like I’m at home.”

Check out Aaron's barbecued lobster tail recipe

At Pomus, Aaron describes the food as British small plates, with a focus on strong local suppliers, flavour and cooking over fire.

“We use local suppliers, and we just try and get the best produce," he said.

“There’s a lot of hidden detail in it. We really focus on the flavours and how to extract as much flavour from that dish as possible, which makes it fun for us and we change the menu monthly.”

The restaurant has 35 seats inside and 30 outside, and has reached 220 covers on a night at its busiest.

“People have taken to what we're doing," Aaron said.

"We keep our prices fair and competitive, and we just cook good, honest food."

Breaking down stigma

Alongside his role at Pomus, Aaron is also an ambassador for The Burnt Chef Project, a cause that has become deeply personal to him.

Four years ago, Aaron experienced his own mental health challenges.

“I had a massive breakdown,” he said.

“I just basically couldn’t do it anymore.

“Thankfully, I’ve got a good support network, friends and family, and it was kind of like, you know what, I actually need some help here.

“With some of the stuff The Burnt Chef Project put out, I was like, okay, I’m not actually on my own.”

To try and give back and help the industry, Aaron went on to become an ambassador for Kent, completed courses in mental health, alcohol abuse and drug abuse, and is now a qualified mental health first aider.

“It’s just about raising awareness, because this industry is hard: mentally, physically, emotionally,” he said.

“If you allow it to, it will literally eat your life. Some of the stats around it are scary.”

For Aaron, the work is about breaking down the stigma around asking for help.

“That’s what The Burnt Chef Project is all about,” he said.

“It’s about trying to break down those barriers and saying, if you’re not okay, that’s fine.”

To get to know a bit more about Aaron, we asked him some quick-fire questions to finish.

Name a comfort food that isn’t considered ‘cheffy’ but that you love to eat

“Spicy chicken wings. That is definitely my go-to.”

What do you like about being part of The Staff Canteen community?

“It’s the community side of it. The Staff Canteen events are great. I did one in Tunbridge Wells not long ago.

"There were other chefs from Margate there. The food was incredible, but the fact that we all bonded was great.

"I’d definitely say the community aspect of it is probably my favourite part."

What is the most important lesson you have learned as a chef?

"Patience.

"One of the most rewarding parts of the job is seeing the junior members of staff progress.

"I’ve got a young lad now, Cam, he’s 21, he was working at McDonald’s. A year later, he will probably outcook most people already.

"I’ve had to have patience with him because he’s made mistakes along the way, but it’s reaping the rewards now. A year in, there’s not much he doesn’t know how to cook already, which is crazy."

What is your proudest career achievement?

"Retaining the first Michelin Bib Gourmand at a restaurant in Ramsgate called Age & Sons will always stay with me. That was where I first learned about Michelin.

"I can still remember the head chef coming to talk to me, and that was about 13 years ago."