I have the perfect job. I get to cook the best food, equal to most restaurants and in an environment that keeps the stress of being a chef at bay, all while having weekends off, public holidays off and paid overtime. Working in the directors’ dining sector of the hospitality industry isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but personally, I fail to see the negatives.
My role for the past two years or so has been as Hospitality Sous Chef for the international auditing firm of Ernst & Young. Based at their London headquarters overlooking the Tower of London, it is a very prestigious site and was a fantastic building to work in. My main focus was on fine-dining for the directors and their high-profile clients as well as catering for a variety of private functions. More recently I have taken on the position of Hospitality Head Chef for the two London offices of Diageo, one of the largest drinks companies in the world. They own many major brands such as Guiness, Smirnoff, Hennessy, Pimms amongst others and I have the responsibility for any hospitality functions and for the food in their on-site bar.
Prior to this great job I served 2 years as Head Chef for a London organic kitchen – Planet Organic; spent various stints as a senior chef for a directors’ dining relief team and gained valuable experience with Carluccio’s restaurants. Before my spell in London I trained and worked in Wellington, New Zealand. I was fortunate to gain a wide variety of experience scaling the ranks from my first role as Head Cook at a cafe/bar, various Chef de Partie and Sous Chef roles through to my highlights of being a Senior Chef at New Zealand’s parliament, Head Chef at Brava restaurant and my introduction to the corporate sector as Caterer to the law firm of Buddle Findlay.
My formal training consisted of block courses at Massey University, formerly known as Wellington Polytechnic. I found the structure of block courses ideal. You get a formal education where you learn all the intricacies of fine-dining and catering intertwined with a variety of work experience. You have to be at certain levels to begin and pass each module and, after a lot of sweat and study, I passed top of my class.
As you may guess, food is pretty high up on my list of priorities. I love to scour the amazing markets in London and have been fortunate to travel throughout Europe sampling the massive range the continent has to offer. Photography has also found a place in my heart and this compliments my love of food successfully. Every photo you see on this site, with the exception of the one below, was taken by me. I hope you enjoy them. Just don’t rip them off, please.
I welcome any suggestions for articles and will happily write about those I feel to be appropriate for this site. Simply leave me a comment after any article and I will look into it.
In the meantime, cook up a storm and happy reading.
Caleb
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