Member of the Month August 2023: James Noone

Here at The Staff Canteen, we feature a different member every month we think deserves to be celebrated - this month’s winner is James Noone. 

As thanks for being a regular contributor to The Staff Canteen, James will receive an item of TSC merch of their choosing, a TSC mug and will be entered in our Member of the Year 2023 competition. The Staff Canteen Member of the Month feature is brought to you in association with Major.

>>> Find out more about James and follow him here

Current Place Of Work/Position?

I'm current the Senior Sous chef at Nessa, Soho.

What is your cooking style and what should people expect from the food on your menu?

If you step into Nessa you'll be welcomed with modern British bistro dishes with some influence from Europe.

We like to take the classics and throw a little twist on them.

What is your favourite dish to cook and why?

Honestly, anything over charcoal is going to be a favourite of mine.

Having our bespoke made clay oven combination grill is a huge opportunity for us to have that flavour profile through the menu.

For me having that ancestral way of cooking over fire is so exciting and personal, the dishes you make over charcoal can not be replicated any other way.

Name a food item/dish/ingredient that isn't considered "cheffy" but you love to eat?

This may split the crowd as far as "cheffy" goes, but I'll have to say fried chicken.

I love cooking it, eating it and seeing how many chefs and their cuisines tweak the methods and recipies slightly and completely reinvent the dish.

What do you like about The Staff Canteen app and website?

I love how well the app, website and social pages celebrate and connect like-minded passionate industry workers.

The perfect place to share and be proud of the hard work that we are all putting in week in week out.

It can really benefit anyone who is on there to learn new techniques, find new inspiration and collaborative with thousands of ideas.

What are your plans for the future?

My plan is to secure my first head chef position, I feel I am in the point of my carrer that I am comfortable and confident to lead my team and develop with them to continue growing.

Following this I'd love nothing more than travelling with this career, I really like the idea of working on yachts.

Which chefs inspires you the most and why?

I would say this can be summed up perfectly in a quote from Albert Einstein which goes "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but so is alot".

For me the moment you realise that no matter how much you learn, there is such vast amounts you can be taught, then you really open up your mind to all ideas and contributions.

That has helped me grow my menu ideas and dish creativity exponentially.

Keep posting your great pictures on your TSC member's profile and using #thestaffcanteen on Instagram and you could be the next Member of the Month!