Member of the month September 2025 - Emma Pykett

Here at The Staff Canteen, we feature a different member every month who we think deserves to be celebrated - this month’s winner is pastry chef Emma Pykett.

As thanks for being a regular contributor to The Staff Canteen, Emma will receive a TSC mug, an item of merchandise from our online store, and be entered into our member of the year 2026 competition.

Emma began her culinary career from a young age.

She said: “I started out when I was 16 at Nottingham College, so I did three years catering there. Then I went to UCB in Birmingham to do my foundation degree in professional chef.

"During that time we had to do a one-month placement, so I chose The Fat Duck. After that I went back to uni and thought, this is the place I want to go to. So I moved to Bray, worked at the Waterside Inn for a bit, but I knew the Fat Duck was where I really wanted to be.”

On working at the Fat Duck with dyslexia

Emma also spoke out about her dyslexia and praises the team at The Fat Duck for their support.

She added: "It’s really nice because everyone’s really friendly, and when you’re dyslexic, people sometimes struggle to understand how you work. It takes a lot more effort, and you have to think a lot more to try and produce the same outcome as someone else. At the Fat Duck, they all understand it takes you more time to process stuff, and that you’re still just like everyone else, you just need a bit more extra help. Everyone gets that, and it makes such a difference.”

To get to know a bit more about Emma, we asked her some quick-fire questions to finish.

Name a comfort food that isn’t considered ‘cheffy’ but that you love to eat?
“A sandwich… like tomato, mozzarella, salami and garlic mayo sandwich.”

What do you like about being a part of The Staff Canteen?
“It brings everyone together. You find people that you never think you’d know and then you just find new people to talk to about food, which is quite nice. You can share your experiences.”

What is the most important lesson you’ve learnt as a chef?
“Everyone’s in the same boat and we all have the same ideas. Just keep going. We’re all the same, we’ve all been in the same positions, so we’re all equal kind of thing.”

What are your hopes and plans for the future in hospitality?
“At the moment, I don’t know because I’m currently at my dream job. I don’t really know where to go from here. Maybe like a café - a café sounds quite cool.”