Mark McCabe: ‘Keira Carolan can reach any height she desires’

Newly crowned Young National Chef of the Year Keira Carolan “has the potential to reach any height she desires,” says Henrock head chef Mark McCabe.

Keira works under Mark as demi chef de partie at Simon Rogan’s Henrock in the Lake District, which holds three AA rosettes.

Earlier this month, the 21-year-old came out on top at the prestigious Craft Guild of Chefs event, with the final cook-off taking place at the University of West London.

Keira finished third in the competition last year, but returned to take the title this time around, seeing off the challenges of 11 fellow talented youngsters.

The judging panel included chefs Adam Smith, Paul Askew, Roberta Hall-McCarron and Graham Hornigold.

The beginning of their working relationship

Discussing Keira, Mark, who featured as part of the banquet in this year’s Great British Menu, told The Staff Canteen: “She’s immensely talented.

“To have this title under her belt at 21 is incredible. She can go on and do whatever she wants. I fully believe that.

“She has the potential to reach any height she desires.

“It’s a great thing to have and a massive testament to her hard work, and as long as she keeps focusing on the journey, the progress, and working hard, then I think she can achieve anything.”

Recalling when he first met Keira, Mark added: “Her and her partner Dylan (Evans) were part of the original team that were here when I started at Henrock, and have been with us ever since through the highs and lows.

“They both came through the apprentice scheme with L’Enclume and Simon. When they finished that up, they came up to Henrock, and they’d been here a couple of months before I got here.

“Keira is very determined - a bit of a little bottle rocket. She just buzzes around the kitchen.

“She has such clear ideas of what she wants from life and is very hardworking, very determined, very conscientious. We’re very lucky to have young chefs within the group who are so driven; it certainly makes my job a lot easier.

“From a competition point of view, she’s so driven and always questioning, always second-guessing, always wanting to make things better — which has really done her credit when it came to the final.”

Competing again - and winning

Keira’s winning menu was a starter of monkfish, mussels, nasturtium and preserved tomato, followed by a main course of chicken, foraged mushrooms, kales and celeriac, with preserved strawberry, apple marigold, sheep’s yoghurt and honey for dessert.

Raised on a sheep farm in Donegal, Ireland, she began her culinary journey aged 15, before joining the Simon Rogan Academy. Her long-term goal is to open a restaurant and bakery with Dylan.

As well as being crowned Young National Chef of the Year, Keira enjoys a host of perks for winning the event.

This includes a trip to Amsterdam with chef’s table and behind-the-scenes experience at two-Michelin-starred Ciel Bleu, a pastry making stage at Grantley Hall, a seafood learning experience in Scotland and various prize money vouchers.

Keira looked visibly shocked when she was crowned the winner at the awards ceremony at the Hippodrome Casino in Leicester Square.

Upon winning, she said: “I can’t describe it. I didn’t think it would be me, there were so many amazing chefs.”

“I never thought I would ever be saying I am Young National Chef of the Year. I cannot put into words how much this means to me.

“All the hard work, the highs, the lows and everything in between has been worth every second. I feel so honoured to have had the opportunity to compete against such a talented group of young chefs, cook for amazing judges and idols of mine.

“I would like to thank Mark McCabe, Paul Burgalières and everyone at Henrock for all their help, guidance and support. Thank you to my family and friends for being behind me every step of the way.

“And lastly to my partner Dylan who was there beside me for every practice with unwavering support and encouragement!”

Creating space for ambition

Asked what her drive was to return to the competition to try again, Keira said: “I hate losing!”

Mark, who himself has competed twice on Great British Menu, said: “It’s a huge risk. I’ve definitely felt it, returning to competitions and wanting to better yourself and your performance.

“When you’ve come third in a competition, there isn’t really a huge place left to go, so it takes a lot of guts and courage to potentially set yourself up to have more of a perceived failure the second time around.

“Fair play to her - she definitely felt that pressure, but she kept it under control.

“Like any competition you take on, you know you’re going to give up most of your free time, if not all of your free time, to practise.

“We’ve had an amazing year in terms of competitions in the Henrock kitchen. Two of our chefs were part of UK Young Restaurant Team of the Year; Dylan was in the graduate awards for the Craft Guild and passed that as well. Then we had the GBM banquet at the start of the year.

“We haven’t really had a period over the last 12 months when someone hasn’t been doing a competition.

“Everyone’s super driven and keen on their personal growth. It’s important to me to make space for that where we can and try and balance the good of the restaurant with the good of the team.

“We try to make sure people feel supported. But largely it comes down to how determined they are and how much free time they’re willing to give up to make it happen.

“I can certainly attest that Keira, despite my protestations, has not had a day off for many months.”

Back to work - and back to earth

And Keira was straight back to it at Henrock after winning the award.

Mark said: “She had a pretty menial prep job lined up for herself, either way it was going to level her back out or help her forget some stuff!”

He added: “We’re a small team, and everyone’s amazing really - I’m so lucky to have the team that I have.

“Keira is very central to that. She’s been on all three sections since I started now and approaches it with the same determination to get as good at it as she can, as quickly as she can.”

Discussing his spell as Henrock head chef, Scottish chef Mark, who previously ran The Ethicurean in Bristol, said: “It’s definitely the biggest project I’ve ever taken on. It took me a year to find my feet happily and get to where I wanted to be, in terms of how I manage a bigger team, coping with more guests, and living up to the standards that Simon expects of us.

“But it’s good. We have a really settled team; we all get on well and are comfortable as a group of people, which I think is hugely important when it comes to delivering consistently.

“It’s great I couldn’t ask for more.”