Maybe it was time for me to step back a bit from that manic big city pace, but back home is where I truely started perfecting my skills as a chef da partie to make me a more rounded and better chef.
Returning home was a chance to tune my precision skills on a daily basis, which you cannot possibly do when you are busy wrapping beef for 1,500 people a day in London.
Getting the position of the head chef at The Angel in Corbridge was the career breakthrough I was looking for, a huge learning curve and a first step on the management ladder that might lead to greater things for me.
Head chef was a huge responsibility for me, but I was eager and knew no fear! It was the first time it was all down to me to make money for a restaurant, it was all on my shoulders and the team and I were young. It did get pretty fiery in those kitchens with all the shouting. Things could get a bit mad! We were all learning. Up to this point I was used to being a chef in a kitchen, but now I was also a leader so of course it was a huge learning curve.
The time then came to combine my management and culinary skills together in my own restaurant, and the oppourtunity to buy Simms of Narrowgate in Alnwick presented itself.
This was a defining moment for me, as for the first time I had no boundaries on what I could do. There was no way I was going to hold back, all my skills and knowledge were being put to the test and it was just great.
We focused on fresh, local ingredients and sometimes took it to extremes, with a whole deer being dropped off at the back door! WE were a small, dynamic team who loved food and wanted to bring this passion to the people of the region.
Following several great years at the helm of Simms, I continued on my learning curve by working at The Centurion at Newcastle's Central Station as executive chef. After overseeing its re-banding and overhaul, I lead the city's new Tiger Tiger restaurant that helped put the city on the culinary map.

TO BE CONTINUED ...