Your restaurant/title Chef, The Whitehall Hotel, Darwen.

The essential ingredient in any kitchen

Passion! Working in a professional kitchen is quite simply hard work and is also unsociable. You have to be disciplined with common sense and enjoy a fast paced and pressurised environment.

The first kitchen I worked in

Wentworth Golf Club. After leaving the military my first appointment was as senior chef de partie in charge of the tennis and health club. I enjoyed almost a four-year period overseeing prestigious events, catering for celebrities and royalty.

My first professional job

On completion of my catering diploma at Bolton Metropolitan College I joined Her Majesty’s Forces. My initial intention was to gain experience and fulfil my ambition of being in the services for the three-year minimum required period, enjoying the various aspects of travel and having to adapt to cooking in extreme conditions in some challenging locations.

The first dish I prepared for service

Full English breakfast. We followed a structured training path in the army with breakfast being the entry level as is more often the case in most kitchens. I am still of the mind set that a well cooked breakfast is equally as important as an evening service and guests appreciate the ingredients cooked correctly with the care which is warranted.

The signature dish associated with me

Classic beef Wellington with Perigourdine Sauce. It’s a classic dish which is simply timeless and without knowledge of the depth of flavours and the various cooking skills involved it can go horribly wrong!

My food philosophy

Keep it simple with quality ingredients. It’s not a cliché and I would advise anyone to spend that little bit more for locally-sourced seasonal produce. We are fortunate to have a wealth of producers on our door step and we constantly review our menu offering especially in view of the unpredictability of the weather.

My biggest kitchen disaster

Set an oven on fire. During a busy service we ran out of duck confit which was an extremely popular dish. I had the duck already in the oven which had been slow roasting for several hours and in haste of removing the tray it buckled and the remaining oil splashed back into the oven which then ignited. We had to stop service and I had to extinguish the fire with Co2 and two fire blankets as it burned through the first!

My favourite chefs/biggest influences are...

With over 25 years experience I have been fortunate to have worked with several extremely talented chefs and disciplined kitchen managers. Being a biker myself and a chef it goes without saying the Hairy Bikers are a firm favourite.

Away from the restaurant my favourite meal is...

Blue fillet steak served with fat chips, grilled tomato, fried field mushroom with a large jug of peppercorn and brandy sauce.