Here at The Staff Canteen, we feature a different member every month who we think deserves to be celebrated - this month’s winner is Scott Philliskirk.
As thanks for being a regular contributor to The Staff Canteen, Scott will receive a TSC mug, an item of merchandise from our online store, and be entered into our member of the year 2026 competition.
Originally from Sheffield, Scott is head chef at West 10 Bar and Kitchen, a modern fine dining restaurant in Sheffield.
West 10 has become known for its intimate upstairs tasting menu and has been recognised with two AA rosettes, underlining the ambition of Scott and his team.
His route into cheffing started at the pot wash. As a teenager, he took a job in a local gastropub kitchen and quickly moved across to the stove, working his way through pizza, starters, garnish and sauce.
By his mid-twenties he had spent more than five years in that pub, progressing to sous chef and discovering that he preferred to let his own ideas shape the food rather than simply reproducing pub classics.
The Hidden Gem
When a military career fell through by just two exam marks, Scott switched course completely and went into business with his mum, helping her relaunch the Hidden Gem cafe in Sheffield, part of a wider charity which supports adults with learning disabilities.
What started as a simple bacon sandwich café became something very different. Scott rewrote the offer from the ground up: baking bread in-house, cooking eggs royale and eggs benedict, running full English breakfasts and bistro evenings.
The Hidden Gem grew into one of Sheffield’s most talked-about cafés, drawing regulars from across the city and beyond and giving Scott a platform to experiment, research new techniques and teach kitchen skills to the centre’s participants.
When the gastropub where he had started came up for sale, Scott and the former front of house manager decided – after 'one too many drinks' – to take it on themselves. For several years they brought the building back to life with a fresh food, bookings-led model, but the impact of COVID and rising costs eventually made the lease unsustainable.
Self-taught and proudly independent in his style, Scott describes his cooking as 'flavour-led first and foremost' – every element on the plate has to earn its place and be clearly tasted, not just look pretty or tick
