Member of the Month June 2018: Damon Fletcher

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

• See dishes and recipes from Damon Fletcher

• Read more interviews with previous Member of the Month chefs

As a member who regularly contributes to our site via the app Chef+, Damon will win a copy of Where Chefs Eat, a selection of goodies from our app sponsors Essential Cuisine, and The Staff Canteen 10th Anniversary mug.

Current place of work, position and a brief overview of where you have worked before.

I'm currently working at Wolfscastle Country Hotel in Pembrokeshire. My current postion is sous chef at the hotel's two Rosette restaurant, Allt Yr Afon. I've worked in west Wales for three years, previously at Twr y Felin Hotel in St Davids and a seaside restaurant in Little Haven called The Swan Inn.

Before moving to Pembrokeshire, I completed an apprenticeship in Professional Cookery for two years in The Bridge Brasserie (in Chippenham where I grew up) and from there went to work in several restaurants in the Cotswolds and Bath.

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

This is a question I am quite often asked and I'm never sure how to answer. I would perhaps describe my food as 'simple yet also experimental'. I love taking a classic combination of flavours as the base point for a dish and then seeing which new directions I can go with those flavours, until I design a dish that has a clean cut beauty to its appearance but a 'wow' factor in its taste.  In a way, my signature has become the use of only a few top-quality ingredients, extracting from them a wealth of flavour, texture and visual impact.

Do you offer tasting menu/ à la carte or other dining options? What are your thoughts on tasting menus in the industry?

Here at Allt Yr Afon, we have have an À la carte menu we run every evening, alongside daily specials which we base on whatever local ingredients we have at our disposal, including ingredients foraged from the surrounding countryside. I love the idea of a tasting menu and think it's a great way to showcase your food and style as a chef. At other places I have worked at, we didn't have a fixed tasting menu but hosted special nights where we prepared tasting menus of six to nine courses for exclusive events (for example, New Year's Eve). They've been a huge success. 

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

I love the community element of the app. Not only can I keep up with the current leaders of the culinary world (AKA the guys with the Michelin stars) but also the up-and-comers in the industry (myself included). It's lovely to see chefs of any level being able to share their passion with a vast community, and to have a platform from which to get noticed in such a huge and ever growing industry.

What is your favourite dish to cook?

Another difficult question to answer! I will start by saying that I am a meat lover. It's my favourite thing to eat and favourite thing to cook. There is so much skill involved with cooking a piece of meat to perfection, and so much satisfaction in getting it right each time.  If I had to name a particular dish from recent years, I would probably say one from our menu last year: Welsh lamb rump, pea and courgette falafel, spiced ketchup, dukkah, caper and raisin puree and roast carrot. Very tasty.

Guilty pleasure: list food item / dish / ingredient that aren’t considered ‘cheffy’ but you love to eat

Fajitas! I could eat them every day - not cheffy but definitely delicious.

What are your plans for the future?

I have a list of a million avenues I would love to go down with my career, but currently the path I'm on feels pretty good. Looking at the smaller picture, my next goal would be to run my own kitchen and to see my food awarded a Rosette or two. For the bigger picture ... who knows? My skills are developing more and more each day and I am always pushing forward with my knowledge and ability. I just want to keep doing what I love. Maybe even owning my own restaurant one day - the sky's the limit!

Do you want to be the next Member of the Month? Download the app now for free and start sharing your images, videos and recipes and interacting with other members to be in with a chance of winning!

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