Member of the month November 2025 - Scott Philliskirk

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 a seasonal box.

With a development kitchen on the way at West 10 and a clear ambition to bring a Michelin star to his corner of Sheffield, Scott is determined to keep moving forward – both for himself and for the team around him.

To get to know a bit more about Scott, we asked him some quick-fire questions.

Name a comfort food that isn’t considered ‘cheffy’ but that you love to eat

“After service my go-to is usually McDonald’s. I’ll order a double cheeseburger and a mayo chicken, stack them together into one big burger and dunk it in sweet and sour sauce. It’s terrible and brilliant at the same time.”

What do you like about being a part of The Staff Canteen?

“For me, The Staff Canteen is like Instagram for chefs. You can see who’s coming through the ranks, follow their food and their journey, and keep up with what’s happening across the industry. The good, the bad – all of it. It’s a proper community and it’s eye-opening.”

What is your proudest career achievement?

“I’d probably say taking the Hidden Gem from a really basic offer to what it is now and seeing it still thriving. We put that café on the map and started bringing people in from all over, and I’m really proud of that. Getting two rosettes at West 10 is huge as well, but that story isn’t finished yet, so I don’t feel done with it.”

What is the most important lesson you’ve learnt as a chef?

“Patience. I used to be quite hot-headed and it never helped. People make mistakes – I still make mistakes now – and shouting doesn’t move you forward. The important thing is to look at why something went wrong, explain it, and make sure they know how to avoid it next time. That’s how you grow a team.”

What are your hopes and plans for the future in hospitality?

“Personally, I want to bring a Michelin star to Sheffield with West 10. We’ve got incredible restaurants like Jöro and Rafters nearby, so if all three of us end up with stars that would be amazing for the city.

"More broadly, I’d love to see hospitality get the respect it deserves. Since COVID, people don’t go out as often and things like VAT and rising costs have made it harder to push on with the food we want to cook. I’m a big believer in supporting independents over chains – I want to see local restaurants thriving again.”