Why Finn Walsh is in the running for Winterhalter KP of the Year

At Counter Culture in Newquay, Finn Walsh is far more than the person keeping the dishes moving.

Known to everyone simply as Finn, he is a reliable, high-energy presence in the kitchen, a trusted part of the team and, by his own admission, the “drummer of the band” when it comes to how a service holds together.

Nominated by owner and head chef Ben Harrison, Finn is the first kitchen porter to be featured in The Staff Canteen’s Winterhalter KP of the Year series.

For Ben, the reason is simple: Finn “never complains”, “just cracks on with it”, and brings a huge amount of character to the kitchen as well as real graft.

Why Finn has been nominated

Kitchen porters are often described as the unsung heroes of hospitality, but in many restaurants, they are also the one person no-one can afford to lose on a busy shift. That is exactly the feeling Ben has about Finn at Counter Culture.

Speaking during the interview, Ben described him as dependable, hardworking and impossible to replace in the flow of service.

“He just cracks on with it, puts his head down, gets on with it,” Ben said. “But at the same time, it’s by far the best comedy value and the most fun person to have in the team.”

That mix of reliability and personality runs through the whole conversation.

Finn has been part of Counter Culture for around two-and-a-half years and is one of the longest-standing members of the operation. He first helped out when the restaurant and Stacks were opening, moved from part-time to full-time, and has stayed because he loves both the atmosphere and the people around him.

For Finn, being put forward for the award meant a great deal.

“I was over the moon, really,” he said. “It made me feel appreciated, which is really nice.”

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From London DJ to kitchen porter in Newquay

Finn’s route into hospitality is not a conventional one. Born in London, he moved to Cornwall before lockdown, having already spent years coming to Newquay through a family connection to the town.

Before Counter Culture, he had worked at Box and Barber as a KP while also helping with plating, and at one stage was also acting as a personal assistant to chef Adam Banks. Before any of that, he had been DJing in London and organising events.

That background still shapes who he is now. Finn spoke about his split musical identity, from rockabilly, rhythm and blues, northern soul and blues nights through to hard techno and hard trance. It is part of the reason he brings such a strong sense of individuality into the kitchen.

That same personality also comes through in how he dresses. Finn likes to turn up smart, often drawing on rockabilly influences and mid-century style.

Shirts, ties, workwear and denim are all part of the look, because, as he explained, dressing well makes him feel good.

There is something fitting about that attention to detail. Even in a role that can be overlooked from the outside, Finn clearly takes pride in how he shows up.

Inside the role at Counter Culture

Ask Finn what a normal day looks like and the answer quickly shows how broad the KP role can be in a busy restaurant.

He starts around 3pm, begins with bins and recycling, checks the dish station and gets straight into whatever needs doing. From there, the job can move between pot wash, kitchen cleaning, toilet checks and prep support.

At Counter Culture, that support goes beyond washing up. Finn also helps with desserts and prep, mentioning jobs such as orange segments and getting anchovies, olives and peppers ready.

Ben added that Finn has become involved with pintxos and desserts too, especially when the team needs him.

That flexibility matters. It shows a kitchen porter who is not standing at the edge of the brigade, but actively contributing to how the kitchen functions.

Counter Culture runs one straight service, with guests arriving from 5pm and service running through until around 9.30pm, and Finn’s role is constant across all of it.

'the drummer of the band'

One of the strongest moments in the interview comes when Finn tries to explain why a kitchen porter matters.

He compares the kitchen to a band. The head chef is the lead singer, the rest of the chefs are the other musicians and the KP, in his words, is the drummer. It is a simple comparison, but an effective one. The drummer might not always get the spotlight, but they hold the whole thing together.

That idea is exactly why this feature matters. Finn is clear that many people still underestimate the pressure of being a KP. From the outside, the role can look simple. Inside a live service, it is anything but.

“It takes some kind of person to do that in my opinion,” he said. “It’s not easy.”

Ben backed that up too, pointing out that if a KP calls in sick, the whole kitchen feels it immediately. In many teams, that is the one absence nobody wants to deal with.

Pressure, humour and team spirit

Like many of the best hospitality interviews, this one reveals as much about the team dynamic as it does about the individual. Finn is clearly central to the mood inside Counter Culture. He says one of the things the team would miss most about him is his stories. Ben agrees, joking that everyone gets to live vicariously through Finn’s adventures.

When asked what he is most proud of, Finn does not mention speed, stamina or technical skill. Instead, he says he is proud of bringing people together and making them laugh on a bad day.

That says a lot. In hospitality, morale matters. A team that can laugh together, especially during pressure, tends to perform better. Finn’s humour is clearly part of what makes the Counter Culture kitchen what it is.

At the same time, the interview also shows that he can handle real pressure. Ben recalls one particularly brutal Saturday night in the early days of Counter Culture, after losing a sous chef, when he and Finn were left in the thick of a packed service. Ben said he could not have got through it without him.

Why this recognition matters

Perhaps the strongest message in the whole interview is the simplest one. Finn and Ben both believe kitchen porters deserve more recognition because they are essential to the whole operation, even if they are not always the people thanked directly at the pass.

Ben makes the point clearly: diners often thank the chef, but not always the whole team that made the experience possible.

For him, nominating a KP shines a light on the contribution that often stays invisible. Finn agrees, saying that this kind of recognition reflects not just the value of the KP, but the whole team effort behind every service.

In that sense, Finn feels like a strong fit for the Winterhalter KP of the Year series. He is not just doing the job; he is helping shape the atmosphere, rhythm and resilience of the kitchen around him.

At Counter Culture, that makes him far more than a supporting act. He might call himself the drummer, but every good band knows what happens when the beat disappears.

KP Heaven and Hell

Every good KP feature needs a few honest details from the floor, and Finn delivers them.

The most annoying thing chefs do?

Throw cutlery into the sink rather than where it is supposed to go.

The most annoying thing front of house do?

Hand over teapots and leave him wondering why he is suddenly dealing with them in the kitchen.

The messiest chef in the kitchen?

Ben.

The person who burns the most things?

Carl.

Favourite items on the menu?

Old Fashioned cocktail, with the cheesecake. Or a pork belly dish with Spanish beans and crispy bacon.