Tom Aikens, Tom's Kitchen

The Staff Canteen
Tom Aikens

Tom Aikens discusses his role as Chef patron at Tom's Kitchen and his own inspirations with regards to pursuing a career as a Chef.

Name: Tom Aikens

Place of work: Tom’s Kitchen and The Pawn 

Role: Chef patron

Bio: After training at the Norwich City College Hotel School, Tom got his first job working at David Cavalier’s Michelin-starred restaurant in Battersea and at just 26 became the youngest British Chef to be awarded two Michelin stars while holding the position of Head Chef at Pied à Terre in London. In 2003 he opened his own restaurant in Chelsea, Tom Aikens Restaurant, which was awarded one Michelin star in 2012. The restaurant has now closed in order to move to a new location, and he has since opened the Tom’s Kitchen chain of brasseries across various locations in London and Istanbul. He is also culinary director of the newly relaunched Hong Kong restaurant The Pawn.

Follow him on Twitter: @tomaikens

Chef Skills

Tom Aikens takes us through his personal experiences whilst being in the Culinary Industry. These key skills that young Chefs and industry professionals learn as part of their basic training.

Advice for entering into the industry:

You need to be very clear about what area you want to work in within the hospitality industry. Hotel or restaurant? Michelin star or more relaxed?

They all offer different things and different experiences.

They all offer different things and different experiences. Make sure you enjoy it and are prepared to do it because the hours are long and social life goes out the window.

 Be enthusiastic. When I’m taking on new Chefs I very rarely look at the  CV unless it’s for a senior position. For me, if a Chef is enthusiastic and interested, asking questions and showing initiative it shows a lot more to me than having an amazing CV.

View Feature posts about Tom Aikens

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The Staff Canteen

The Staff Canteen

Editor 11th May 2017

Tom Aikens, Tom's Kitchen