My Story
I gained an interest and passion for food from a very early age – spending hours and hours with my mother and grandmother in their kitchens, helping or hindering, I’m not sure which – but I soon learnt that I loved being around food, and eating it even more so.
Taking this newfound passion and interest, I studied food technology at school and passed with an A*. This pushed me to work part-time in a bakery whilst at catering college, which I felt was the next stage for me to learn the basic skillset needed to try and forge a career in the restaurant industry.
I completed NVQ Levels 1, 2 and 3, food hygiene courses and field courses – which included Buckingham Palace Garden Parties and The Rugby World Cup, to mention just a few of the amazing events.
After completing my studies and leaving with the student of the year award, I went to work at the 3-Michelin-starred The Waterside Inn, in Bray, Berkshire.
I spent two great years there, learning and cooking with some of the best chefs I’ve ever met.
Following on from The Waterside, I worked and staged at the following restaurants:
The Fat duck, Bray, 3 stars
1 Lombard Street, London. Stage. 1 star
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, London. Stage. 3 stars
Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Oxford. Stage. 2 stars
Pearl Restaurant, London. 1 star
Antony Worrall Thompson’s Kew Grill, Kew Gardens , Head Chef
In addition to my UK working experience, I travelled and worked around the world before yachting, holding the executive sous chef position for the fine dining restaurant at the 5-star hotel Montgomerie, Dubai, and executive sous chef at Capital Club Bahrain, the countries 1st private members club catering to the various royal family members and high-net-worth individuals on a daily basis.
I was then headhunted to become the private chef to the owner of Adecco and Cacoa Barry Callebaut, travelling to his various homes around the world (Ibiza, Argentina, St. Moritz, Zurich, London and LA) and catering for everyday family meals through to dinner parties, charity events and product launches.
I was headhunted again, by a French celebrity businessman, to work a season on board his super yacht and on his private island in the Pacific (Panama, and on the island of Isla Simca). This is where my super yacht journey began.
Upon returning from Panama I was very keen to get back onto boats, so took all my certifications including the Ship’s Cook Certificate, and gained my 1st role as a sous chef on board M/Y Elandess, 65m.
You may ask why a sous role? Simply put, I wanted to learn the ways of yacht life.
For me it was very important to know the ways of the yachting industry: the daily routines, the jobs that you may not think of, the extra duties of being a crew member, and getting used to cooking and working in rough seas, or preparing food at the very last minute. All this has taken me to the stage I am at now, and I wouldn’t change those sous chef days – learning the markets, the ordering, etc., so much fun!
After my time on M/Y Elandess, I worked on the following boats – all as head chef:
M/Y Imagine 65 m private
M/Y Caipirinha 60m private
M/Y Ocean Victory 86m private
M/Y Pelorus 115m private
M/Y Kogo 75m private
M/Y Eternity 65m charter and private
I now have the following stages upcoming in between my rotation:
Atelier Crenn , San Francisco. 3 star
Maaemo, Norway. 3 star
Tom Sellers’, Restaurant Story, London , 1 star
I have been very fortunate, through lots of hard work, to be interviewed for various magazines and websites throughout my career, as well as becoming the winner of the Antigua Chef’s Competition 2018 and subsequently being asked to be a judge at the 2019 Antigua Chef’s Competition.
I will be cooking at a charity dinner in aid of breast cancer in Zurich later this year also.