Springboard FutureChef

 

This week kicked off with turning 40 and more importantly the Springboard 2022 FutureChef final at Westminster Kingsway college. Now normally this is an event I read about in caterer and follow online with Instagram and twitter, but this year I was made a Springboard ambassador and I got to judge the first heats off the South East section. I was offered the chance to mentor the winner of that heat through to the regional finals and then if successful through to the national final. As you have probably worked out already my mentor was successful in winning the regional finals which meant she was one of 12 national finalists out of the 13’000 that started this year’s competition, no mean feat. To say I was proud would be an understatement. Once she had got through the regional finals, we had about a month to prepare for the national final and had half term to deal with in that time also. To see such dedication and hard work from a year 10 high school student was incredibly refreshing and she is a credit to her school, also her teacher was brilliant in setting up practice time, helping organise all that needed doing to be in London for the gala dinner and the final the following day.

 

Final day arrived and 12 excited but nervous young people lined up for photos and introductions then it was into the kitchen to set up, after 15 minutes all mentor chefs left the kitchen and if any of them were like me, they then spent almost 3 hours just walking around trying to keep themselves occupied.

 

The 12-finalist had 45 minutes at the start to cut a whole chicken for sauté, no easy task as it’s not the sort of cut that is used a lot in professional kitchens these days but shows skill and confidence with a knife. They then had 2 hours to cook and serve 4 plates of chicken with their chosen garnish and 4 plated panacotta desserts again with their chosen garnishes. The standard of food produced by the 12 young chefs was remarkable, lots of different styles and ideas. Unfortunately, my young chef didn’t win but she gave it her all under some tough circumstances and I couldn’t be prouder of what she cooked and the manner she conducted herself in despite the obvious disappointment in not winning. I’m not sure she will go on to cook professionally but if she does the chef who gets her in their kitchen will have gained a true talent who’s drive will take them far in whatever they chose to do with their future.

 

I had so much fun and found the whole process thoroughly enjoyable, I hope to be involved with next year’s competition again and who knows maybe I will have a student in next year’s finals also as you learn a lot of from doing things again and I feel this year’s competition as given me more knowledge on the cooking competition circuit than I had before.

 

For more information on FutureChef please use link below 

https://futurechef.uk.net

 

Picking myself up

I’ve had a few conversations with those closest to me about whether to share this, however during my Burnt Chef Project ambassador interview I discussed the below with Ken the chef who was interviewing me and I finally felt comfortable enough to talk about it with someone I’ve never met before then I’m comfortable enough to share it here.

 

So, to start I’m going to say I’m new to the concept of looking after your own mental health and for far too long I believed that mental health issues were something other people had and “not me”.  No, I was a chef and we are unbreakable, the harder you push us the harder we push back. This macho outlook on mental health goes hand in hand with the phase I hate the most now, the simple but ridiculous “Man Up”.  I honestly cannot stand that saying and cringe when I hear someone use it even in jest. That said, I bought into the whole lifestyle that people think chefs lead, working long hours and wearing the bags under my eyes as a badge of pride and job well done along with the inevitable burns and cuts that come from not looking after yourself properly and working when dog tired. 

 

My own struggle with my mental health started whilst in a job I really wasn’t happy in, and I honestly think the start of the decline was not knowing what I was going to do. I didn’t feel I had been in the role long enough to resign and look for something else as that would have been an admission that something was wrong, that I wasn’t good enough rather than it just wasn’t the right fit for me. The feeling started to slowly get stronger, and I found myself staying up later and later at night as I knew as soon as I went to sleep it would mean going into work when I woke. I like a beer as much as the next person but found that I wanted to drink more regularly, never getting to the point of getting hammered or being dependant on it but feeling like I couldn’t relax without having a pint. As time went on, I found that I was losing the spark that made me feel like me, I couldn’t find enjoyment in much and it didn’t take much to set a decent day on a downwood spiral. I was anxious all the time and every time my phone pinged it sent a sinking feeling to the bottom of my stomach as I was always thinking “what now”. At the lowest point I found myself thinking “if I crash the car on the way in then I can have the day off, maybe tomorrow too” it was around this point that I confided in my wife about how I was feeling and she didn’t judge me or tell me to “Man Up” she encouraged me to start looking for something else and helped me see that it wasn’t just about me it was about the environment I was working in and the people I was working with also. Just having that conversation with my wife and then subsequently with a good friend meant that I started to feel less anxious, and I was able to start thinking about what comes next rather than just about the next service, the next function, the next problem. I found my next move and everything changed suddenly I felt myself again, that spark I felt I had lost was back, my love for cooking and food was back as what I also hadn’t realised was that during this time my eating habits had got to be pretty awful, take aways, crisps, biscuits etc had become something I found happiness in or what at the time I thought was happiness anyway, I also lost my drive to-do anything outside of work that didn’t involve sitting on the sofa watching tv or sitting at my local. All combined I gained a lot of weight and when you start to really not like the way you look as well as struggling with how you feel it was inevitable that I would turn to the wasted calories that come in a pack of cookies or a sharing bag of crisps and then the circle just continues. I’m happy to say that over the past 7 months when I finally decided to do something and join slimming world, I’ve lost nearly 5st and feel better physically than I have in over a decade. 

 

As I approach m 40^th in a few weeks I find that I’m in a better place mentally now than at any other point of my career, and I’m on my way to being in the best physical shape also. 

 

I think having been through this I would recognise the triggers for me now and if I found myself heading down that rabbit hole, I know what to do and who to reach out to. 

 

This was the major reason for wanting to become a Burnt Chef ambassador, If I can reach just one person who is in the sort of situation I was in and I can help them get the support they need to improve their situation then I will feel like I’ve made a difference. As well as becoming a Burnt Chef ambassador I am also a springboard ambassador and am mentoring a young student through the FutureChef competition with the final in 2 weeks’ time, so it’s been an exciting year so far and I’m hoping that it continues that way but my Burnt Chef training and my own experiences with mental health means I feel like I am so much better placed to recognise and do something about it quickly before it gets too bad. 

 

So this is the longest blog post for a while but I wanted to be as honest and open as possible, if any of you lovely lot reading this need to chat, please reach out, I can’t stress it enough start your conversation and you will see there are lots of people out there ready to listen without judgement or agenda.

 

Lots of love people, link to The Burnt Chef Project below

 

Alex 

 

REMEMBER LIVE TO EAT DON’T EAT TO LIVE 

 

https://www.theburntchefproject.com

Is the food blog dead?

Are food blogs dead? This is the question I find myself pondering this evening. I was sorting files out on the MacBook and find my blog post folder then realise I haven’t posted since 2016. When I was posting regularly back then I was following and reading a lot of other blogs from chefs I admired but now it seems the blog has been replaced by the podcast. I’m not complaining I love a podcast and will take this chance to shout out “The Nightcap” by Paul Foster, “always in season” by James Golding and “the David Chang show” by David Chang as my favourite food related pods and of course “that Peter Crouch Podcast” as the greatest pod going (Hopefully they will be “back stronger” very soon.

 

Since my last post a lot has changed! I was made redundant at Thorpe Park, so I joined Baxterstorey looking after British Airways waterside. Lizzie and I also welcomed Daisy into our world during 2019. This was followed by moving back to Heathrow airside but this time working in the British Airways lounges which I started just before Covid hit. Spending 12 weeks at home with my family during a particularly warm spring was brilliant but also tough, having spent 20 odd years in professional kitchens that much downtime in one go and also being ordered to stay home apart from your daily walk I found difficult at times. The biggest plus to those 12 weeks was seeing Daisy hit all those little milestones I missed with Elouise as I was always at work. Once allowed out the house and back to work I moved from terminal 3 to terminal 5 and worked across the lounges until we reponed The Concorde Room which I am now head chef of. 

 

Below are just a few of the dishes we have had on since reopening and intend to keep my little blog going and update with new dishes more often. I hope that 2022 is a much better year for us all I really do.

 

 

Seabass, Spring vegetables & Sauce Vierge

Capreolus Cured Mutton, Feta, Artichoke & Mint Emulsion

Capreolus Air Dried Pork Loin, Fennel & Radish, Parsley Emulsion

Bacon Chop, Braised Red Cabbage & Raisins, Parsley Sauce

John Ross Smoked Salmon, Pickled Beetroot Puree, Sour Cream, Radish & Keta 

dephending on how this is received and more to the point if anyone even reads it i will decide whether to post any more or not, lots planned this year so hopefully it would be interestign and i can't do a Vlog or Podcast as i can't stand hearing my own voice when recorded. 

Thanks to those that do read this, Peace 🙏

REMEMBER LIVE TO EAT, DON’T EAT TO LIVE!

2016 So Far

What a rollercoaster of a year, no pun intended.

 

So our 2016 season has started much faster than I expected with all the changes we made to Fin’s with regard to food offering and menu.  The team have pushed really hard to try and keep us moving forward. The changes we have made are significant and I think show our commitment to producing the best possible food we can with the resources we have.

 

Changing 90% of our food offering and taking much more in-house than in previous years has proved a test for the team. In simple terms the amount of prep now needed to be ready for service has tripled at least, but it’s proving to be a good thing the team feel more that the menu is there’s and are proud of what we serve.

 

Our jerk chicken, rice & peas have proved to be very popular and the jerk chicken pizza with riquitto chili pearls and smoked chipotle mayonnaise even more so. Simple preparations treated with care and respect, to make dishes our guest recognise but might not be daring enough to attempt at home.

 

The strides forward we have made in 16 months are incredible and without the support of #TeamFins it would not have been possible, to see how far some of the team members have come in that time is awesome. I hope we can have another great season and finish stronger than we did last year. I’m sure we are going to face some challenges across the season but it’s as big year for THORPE with Derren Brown’s Ghost Train opening soon.

 

Away from work watching my baby girl grow into a proper little lady is amazing from first tooth, first steps to first words has been truly special. I cannot take for granted what having Lizzie and Elouise to go home to each day means to me, it makes the hard work and sacrifice worth it. Having just moved into a bigger place with a garden for the first time I look forward to many sunny hours playing with Elouise out there. Finally having the space for a little herb garden and veg patch is something I’ve been looking forward to since we moved in.

 

Remember Live To Eat Don't Eat To Live

Bye Bye 2015, Hello 2016

So what has happened since I last posted on here, quite a lot to be honest. So at the end of 2014 I was lucky enough to open Pilots Bar and Kitchen in terminal 5, Heathrow and that was up to the point the biggest challenge I have faced in my career. The planning and stress that went into getting that open 3 days before Christmas 2014 was incredible but I was lucky enough to be part of a great opening team, Hannah my GM was immense, Kieran from head office always in the kitchen with me pushing to get it right and peter looking after Terminal 3 for me so I could concentrate on Pilots. 

After 14 months at Heathrow I decided it was time for a change and I didn’t really know what I wanted to do next or where I wanted to work. I wondered should I go back home, should I ask Lizzie and Elouise to up sticks and move across the country to start afresh again or should I keep pushing and looking for something close to where we live currently which after 8 years is now home.

With some gentle pushing by Paul at Towngate I found myself sitting in a meeting room at Thorpe Park being interviewed for their head chef role. I have never walked away from a first interview feeling as excited and wanting the chance to at least interview again. It was a big decision to leave the sort of world I had been working in and join a resort theme park but I remember talking to Lizzie about it for hours over the next few days as I weighed up my options. Lizzie really pushed me think about what Merlin could offer me and what I could give them back.

Ultimately I decide that I wanted to join Thorpe Park and see where the journey would take me. It has been a whirlwind, its been crazy but I absolutely love it I work with a awesome team and have great boss that really wants us to all succeed as a hotel team. 

My first year at Thorpe has been full of ups and downs, the food has improved almost beyond recognition, both FOH and BOH have not had the easiest years in regards to recruitment but the teams we have couldn’t have worked any harder than they did and I am so proud of how far we have come #TeamFins. I have been very lucky in the fact that Sarah our F&B manager has helped, steered and supported me though so much this year; honestly she has been my rock.

I look forward to getting our team back together and showing them what we have planned for 2016, we are not going to sit back and just repeat what we did last year we have big plans for the 2016 season and hopefully in 12 months time I can do another post and have some highlights to share with you all.

I’m sitting at home with music on and a cuppa thinking what a difference a year makes, this time last year I was not happy at work and when your work is such a big part of your life as mine has been it affects your home life also, this year having had 2 weeks of at Christmas for the first time since I left school in 1998. Its been amazing it really has, spending the amount of time I have been able to with Lizzie and Elouise is not something I have taken for granted. To be honest I think Lizzie is looking forward to having me out from under her feet.

I also rekindled my scouting career in 2015 by joining Oatlands Cub Pack as an assistant cub scout leader, those Tuesday nights at the scout hut remind me so much of being that age and the nights we had at the 2^nd Brighton, St Richards. It makes you want to give back and pass on what I know and hopefully get one of the cubs onto a jamboree in the future, as that should be ever scouts dream.

I will really try and post more regularly, if there is anything you all would like to see a post about please let me know in the comments.

Remember Live to Eat Don’t Eat to Live

The Bell, Shepperton

Hi everyone, so its been a long time since I blogged anything but with the job with rhubarb and my little girl being born its been quite a year!  So, when a lizzie and I got a chance to go out and eat somewhere new together we jumped at the chance.

So last week we went to The Bell, Shepperton. The new head chef Neil Wackrill is the biggest influence on my cooking and it was amazing to eat this food again after 8 years of not working together.

The food is simple good food.  I’m not going to pigeon hole Neil’s cooking as its cooked from the heart and not cooking to impress the guides.

We started with a pint of prawns with chilli vinegar and a salad of shredded vegetables, very fresh sweet plump shell on prawns and really nicely spiced vinegar was an awesome way to start the meal even if I did have to peel all of Lizzies prawns!

Closely followed by 2 types of mussels, mine was a classic moules mariniere and Lizzies had moules Provençale. This dish was something Neil taught me when we worked together in Brighton and we couldn’t keep enough in stock. Nothing has changed the flavour was superb, clean, fresh and moreish making go back for another then another.

The highlight of the meal was the mains where we had a selection of the menu in a platter. Very good quality rib-eye and sirloin steak and spiced baby chicken served with spiced vegetable rice, chips, portabella mushrooms, confit tomatoes and green beans. Perfectly cooked steaks and chicken rice with just the right amount spice and seasoning. 

Lizzie and I tore though an awful lot of food but still couldn’t finish, as the portions here are generous to say the least but very reasonably priced for Surrey. We will be definitely be eating here again very soon, I loved the relaxed feel of the bell it’s a proper British pub and it now has a proper chef serving a proper quality food.  I would recommend this to anyone and everyone go and give it a try.

Remember live to eat don’t eat to live

Alyn Williams At The Westbury

Right time to write up another great meal out this time at Alyn Williams at the Westbury, having arrived I was stunned at how beautiful the dining room is.

We decided to go for the tasting menu and let the sommelier pick a glass of wine for each of us to match the early courses and a glass each to match the mains as my dining partner and myself had chosen to have 1 each of the main choices.

The meal started with great bread, caraway butter and lovely light canapés 

including tempura peppers and airy cheese gougeres. 

 These where followed by our first course of –

Crab/Pot au feu/milk/Celery crisp,

This was full flavour, light, brilliantly fresh and vibrant.

Orkney scallop/Cuttlefish/Caraway/Mint 

came next and was mind blowing in its simplicity but packed an almighty punch.

The course that followed was not on the tasting menu but turned out to be one of my favorite dishes from the meal –

Heritage tomato/wasabi/radish

When a tomato taste as good as these did you don’t need to do a lot to them but the finesse the kitchen showed with this dish put any other tomato dish I have had in the shade.

Marinated quail/Smoked egg/Baked potato/Pickled red cabbage

Again brilliant flavours and clever use of textures to create a balanced and properly tasty dish.

Cured salmon/Peas/radish/Summer truffle

If not the best dish of the day a very very close second. Clean, bright and salmon cooked with great precision.

Next where the 2 main courses,

Devon ruby red sirloin and cheek/Turnips/Sand carrots/Croutons

&

Char grilled dry aged pork/River kennet crayfish/White asparagus

Beautifully cooked sirloin, tender melting cheeks and carrots with an incredible flavour.

But for me the pork was the highlight of the whole meal, sweet succulent loin and belly pork, crisp skin, perfect crayfish, butter roasted white asparagus and a light jus was just awesome.

Cornish cheesecake/Pineapple/Timur pepper/Cereal

This was our pre dessert and like the rest of the meal it was full of flavour, clever in the way it was presented.

Our final course –

Chocolate cake/masala/Mascarpone/Passion fruit

Simple In design and plating but it was wicked, warm and satisfying.

I have included the images of the wines we tasted all 4 where very nice but the Alberino stood out to me as something abit different and was very nice.

So to sum up the meal was awesome, Alyn was nice enough to come out and say hello and spend a few minutes chatting. He seemed at ease and very happy with the way life is going at the moment.

The service we received was top draw; the gentleman that served us was knowledgeable about the menus and Alyn’s style of cooking and was relaxed and looked like he really enjoyed his job.

Remember live to eat don’t eat to live