Pushing the Possibilities of Food

What motivated you to choose to train as a chef and which culinary school did you attend?

I had a love of food from a young age, everything at home was scratch cooked and convenience wasn’t really a thing back then. Mum was a genius – casseroles, stews, pies, roasts, cakes – good hearty home cooking at its best! My secondary school offered a two year catering course as an option, which was pretty unique, so I went for it! From there, I attended Lewisham college on day release as part of my three year apprenticeship and never looked back.

Did you always envision working in development, or did you discover your interest in it as you progressed in your career?

I have always loved exploring food but I hadn’t seen it as a career at first. My love of travel really opened my eyes to just how many cuisines there are. I am naturally inquisitive and the world of gastronomy fascinates me, as I’m sure it does for all chefs.

Where did you learn the business elements of a development chef?

From my very first head chef’s role at 25, I quickly learnt that you need to know more than just the food you are preparing – chefs nowadays are also business managers. Bringing an idea to life and the steps that you go through are second nature to all chefs, but then add to that the logistics of producing at scale, the processes to ensure consistency, communication and more, and the learning never stops.

How does a development chef differ to a restaurant chef?

Fundamentally, we all want to achieve the same thing – great tasting food – we just come at it from different angles. The disciplines learned as a restaurant chef in terms of organisation, work ethic and time awareness definitely helps with food development, but there are lessons that can be learned from everyone who works with food. That’s what makes it such an amazing industry to be involved in.

How important is it that chefs have a greater understanding of nutrition?

I was lucky in my previous role to be involved with a number of elite sports training centres, and whilst I had the food knowledge, I wanted to get a deeper understanding of why macro balance in a menu was so important, so I gained some qualifications in health and nutrition. Don’t get me wrong, I have only scratched the surface; a couple of courses does not make you an expert, but it’s a fascinating subject and one that I would certainly recommend to anyone.

And what are the greatest rewards in your role?

Getting it right! I always ask at the end of every food presentation we do, “Did we exceed your expectations?” That’s what drives us forward.

How important is it for chefs to offer alternative proteins on menus?

It’s absolutely vital! Consumers are actively looking to reduce the meat they eat as they realise the impact it can make on the planet. I think that people want variety and want the opportunity to make the right choices for them at any given time. Quite rightly this has meant that as chefs, we have had to radically rethink the way we cook vegetarian and vegan food, which was probably up until the last few years a separate dish on a menu. Chefs are now starting to work the other way around – the bar has been raised.

Why should chefs choose to work with QuornPro?

We’ve always had an ambition to do more than provide tasty, nutritional and sustainable menu choices. Driven by our culinary ambition to be best in class, we have a unique opportunity to work with chefs to inspire the future of protein on plates.

What is your favourite QuornPro recipe?

There are so many! The core ingredient in all QuornPro products is mycoprotein. With a taste and texture almost parallel to meat, it allows us to push the boundaries of protein so that chefs can push the possibilities of food.

A couple of my recent favourites are…

Raw slaw smoked cheeseburger

Burgers also remain a top menu choice. The versatility of our super protein means we have something in our range to meet all of these needs and more. Our Vegan Beef Burger is the star of this dish. The smoked cheeseburger is juicy, succulent and will satisfy those meaty cravings! A seasoned red cabbage, red onion, carrot slaw adds fresh crunch with a pop of flavour.

Japanese Katsu

Chicken is a staple on many menus and is often the go-to choice for diners across all sectors out of home. There are so many creative ways to build vegan chicken dishes with our ChiQin range. For this Japanese Katsu we used our crunchy Vegan ChiQin Buttermilk Burger paired with a rich flavour packed Katsu curry sauce, an Asian slaw, jasmine rice and crispy onions to create the perfect combination of flavours and texture.

Birria Taco

This dish uses QuornPro mince to strike the perfect balance between a crispy outer shell and a soft filling. Packed with incredible flavours and fresh ingredients these tacos are sure to satisfy the tastebuds!