the standards across my eight restaurants, ensuring the 3,500 meals a day are of a good quality. I engineer all of the big International state visits. In 2006 we also had the pleasure of looking after Prince William and Prince Harry. There was a lot of media attention obviously but that year was tremendous – it was probably the busiest year. It’s nice to design menus for the Royal Family; don’t get me wrong, I would love to have a one star restaurant in the city and climb up the Michelin levels, but to be able to deliver top restaurant food for a very senior clientele, is something I dreamed of as a young boy. To be in control of that makes it a great pleasure to come to work every day.
Is there a lot of pressure to keep up the standards and expectations?
There can be – The Sovereign's Parade lunch is for 1100 people in five different restaurants and they eat at the same time. I have to manage that and it can cause pressure. When you are in command, it’s your menu, it’s your food and it’s your name above the door – that’s the pressure of any chef owner, exec chef or head chef has. But we wouldn’t be in those positions if we couldn’t absorb that pressure.
Is it still possible to have a seasonal menu when cooking for UK based clientele?
Yeah, we still got excited about asparagus when that came in and I was using Oxford asparagus. Sometimes as a chef you’ve got to explore quality, I speak to a lot of people to find out where the best produce is because you need that to achieve the best results. When it comes to meat, poultry and fish, every chef should be conscious of where their produce comes from. I also have a poly tunnel that grows some great seasonal vegetables, salads and herbs.
How many chefs do you look after?
As well as looking after Sandhurst, under the Compass Group umbrella, I look after the north of England including Edinburgh Castle, and all of the south east of England. At Sandhurst I have about 25 chefs, and within the rest of the business that I oversee, probably 150 to 200. When you step into a role outside of where your familiarity you become almost a chef consultant. You have to set good standards and go into other kitchens and offer advice to manage and maintain a good looking food offer.
Are the chefs that you work with military?
There’s a bit of a mix. I’d say 85% who work with me are civilian chefs and there is a contingent of military chefs about but most of them are deployed on exercise but it is good to work with them when I can.
What’s it like working in a military environment?
From the outside looking in people in general would probably find it quite amazing and a unique situation to adapt to. As a kid I grew up with the British Forces, as my Dad was in the RAF. This helped familiarise me with the military life. In the military expectations are a lot higher, everything has to run to precise timings and it’s much disciplined. People may say our client is demanding, but I get on fantastically well with all of them. I’d encourage young chefs to experience this wider field of catering. You will remember that timing is very crucial in the restaurant business.
You have an impressive selection of culinary awards and gold medals, but which one are you most proud of?
I started competing in 2003, and I’ve achieved over 80 national and international awards. In 2004 Compass Group went out to the Culinary Olympics. I was going as support chef, to learn from the guys who have been doing it for many years. I learnt a lot and returned 4 years later in 2008 to take the Gold Medal on the first day. For me it was great to take a gold medal and a big highlight of my career. I still compete at an international level but UK competitions I tend to mentor and judge.
Is competing something you would encourage young chefs coming into the industry to do?
Absolutely! The reason is because you get to go away, experience working with different chefs and no matter what the award is, you come away feeling inspired. You go back into your restaurant excited. Everyone likes a bit of change and at the same time reward and achievement; with a competition you get both.
In the future, would you like your own restaurant?
I’m really happy doing what I’m doing now. Enjoying my “field to fine dining” journey, great restaurant food, working environment and fantastic clients. All the menus at the fine dining restaurant are designed by me – but moving forward I would like to be considered in media opportunities, I see that as a future step.
