the food. Okay, yeah, we call through the orders every day, we conduct service, we do mise en place. For me, whether it’s prepping the fish, the meat on the pass or speaking to the suppliers, keeping the relationship with those going. One thing I’ve learnt from Tom is it’s about building relationships, maintaining relationships and whether that’s with Andy the meat man, Johnny the fish man or Mark Morris it’s being personal, being able to build relationships, maintain relationships. That’s as important as conducting a service.
My day-to-day is: I get in, we get in we prep the meat and the fish, we speak to suppliers then 12 o’clock comes. Service goes on until about 4.30 then it will be a case of a bit more mise en place. Service again ringing through the orders. Maintaining standards and consistency is a massive part of my role. It's never ending. Fixing things that are broken.
What would you advise for someone looking to follow in your footsteps?
I would say as a young Chef the most important thing to do is to listen. I think that’s a huge quality. They have to be able to learn from mistakes, be able to almost be a sponge – you have to absorb as much as you can. Not to be a journeyman, what I mean by that is floating from restaurant to restaurant. If you look at a young persons CV and they’ve done six months here, four months there, eight months there, I’d rather look at someone who’s done two years, 18 months and that’s stuck at a place to actually learn and be fully exposed to that environment. To be able to stay somewhere for two years is a lot more of a challenge that floating from restaurant to restaurant. The more you do that, the harder you’ll find it to secure a decent job in the future.
Don’t be put off by the long hours and unsociable aspect. I was when I was a young Chef. I stopped cooking at 18 years old until I was 23 because I wanted to go out and party. I find myself extremely fortunate that I’ve been able to, after that period, be where I am. I consider myself extremely lucky.
If you could go back and do anything differently, would you?
No, I wouldn’t because I am a massive believer in ‘everything happens for a reason’. If didn’t leave catering at 18, maybe that was a too long a period of being out of the trade but if I didn’t I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be where I am now. I worked at restaurant Gordon Ramsey for three days, if I would have actually got some bollocks and stayed there I wouldn’t be where I am now.
Everyone's career path and everyone's journey in life’s different. You’ve got to do what’s right for you as a person. As a young Chef, you need to find a space that suits your personality to enable you to grow. Personally, no, I wouldn’t change a thing.
View Feature posts about Aaron Mulliss
Find a Chef Job
Whether you're an aspiring Chef soon to be leaving education, or you are an established Chef looking for a new culinary challenge, we have a variety of Chef roles to suit you;
- Head Chef Jobs
- Executive Chef Jobs
- Sous Chef Jobs
- Commis Chef Jobs
- Chef de Parties Jobs
- Pastry Chef Jobs
