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| Welcome to: the chefs page... Chef A professional cook working within a commercial kitchen, translates from the French as ‘the boss’, or ‘top man’, a chief.  Chef de boucher A chef responsible for the preparation of raw meat, a butcher. Chef de Cuisine A speciality chef, also known as ‘cuisinier’. Traditionally a term applied to a head chef, the person responsible for the efficient operation of a kitchen. Frequently a chef de cuisine is in charge of menu planning, service, ordering, equipment, staffing and costing, but would not necessarily be involved with production. Chef de Partie known for many things, a bit chef able to cover many aspects of the kitchen. A head of section. Chef Entremettier A chef responsible for the production of vegetable and potato dishes. Sometimes also in charge of egg and farinaceous dishes. Chef Froitier A chef responsible for the production of cold buffets. Chef Garde-Manger A larder chef, responsible for the preparation of all meat, poultry, game and fish in readiness for cooking. Also in charge of cold buffet work, hors-d’oeuvre, salads, sandwiches, canapés and cocktail items. Chef Patissier A chef responsible for the production of all cakes, cold desserts, pastries, ice creams and hot puddings and sweets. Chef Poissonnier A chef responsible for the production of all fish dishes and associated sauces, with the exception of deep fried and grilled fish dishes. Chef Potager A chef responsible for the production of soups. Sometimes also in charge of egg and farinaceous dishes. Chef Rotisseur A chef responsible for the production of meat, poultry and game by roasting or grilling, as well as fried and grilled fish dishes together with associated sauces. Frequently also responsible for the production of deep-fried vegetable and potato dishes. Chef Saucier Traditionally a chef responsible for the production of any hot sauce that is used with meat, poultry or game. They are also charged with controlling the production of all meat, poultry and game dishes that are cooked by boiling, poaching, steaming, stewing and shallow frying. Chef Tournant A relief chef responsible for replacing any other chef during days off or absence. Commis Chef An apprentice or assistant. Master chef A chef demonstrating exceptional ability, knowledge and skill. Sous Chef The second in command, French for ‘underling’, the ‘one beneath’. Chefs that have inspired... Click here to view some videos from the chefs listed bellow | |
| Keith Floyd Born on 28 December 1933 in Somerset and educated at Wellington School. In a varied career he has been an army officer, journalist,  dishwasher, bartender, chef and restaurateur. He has at some point in his life operated restaurants in France, Spain, Britain and currently Thailand. He began his working life as a journalist in Bristol, but soon decided to join the British army after watching the historical war film Zulu, reaching the rank of Second Lieutenant in the Royal Tank Regiment. On leaving the army, he worked as a dishwasher and vegetable peeler in order to make a living. After several differing jobs he ended up as radio chief for the independent commercial radio station, Radio West, in Bristol. Then the opportunity to become a presenter on BBC television arose, he was well received by audiences and soon became known as one of the original breed of modern TV chefs. He presented various cookery shows including Floyd on Fish, Far Flung Floyd, Best Of Floyd, Floyd Around the Med and the award-winning one man show Floyd Uncorked. He has written some 25 books, the first being Floyd's Food, in 1981. His other titles include Floyd on Fish, Floyd on France: Learn to Cook the Keith Floyd Way, Far Flung Floyd: Keith Floyd's Guide to Southeast-Asia Cooking, Floyd's India, and 100 Great Curries. His 20 television series are still being broadcast worldwide. He opened his first restaurant in Bristol in 1971, eventually owning three in the city. He has travelled extensively, learning how to cook local dishes entertaining people in the process. In April 2008 he ventured to Singapore and Thailand in order to expand his restaurant business into Southeast Asia, opening his first Asian restaurant, Floyd’s Brasserie, in Burasari Resort, Phuket, Thailand. His restaurants are often visited by fans who have watched his many  programmes or read his cookery books. He has also appeared in several episodes of the children’s television series Balamory. In 1994 I had the opportunity to cook a meal for Mr. Floyd. He was visiting Newcastle Quayside researching his latest project. He explored the kitchen, pondered the menu, consumed several bottles of red wine at the restaurant owners expense and then ordered and ate a chicken satay with chunky chips. Bless. He recently toured the UK with his award winning one man live show ‘Floyd Uncorked’, and currently lives in the Provence region of France, near Avignon. Anton Mosimann Born 1947 in the Jura mountains, Switzerland. The only child of a family of restaurateurs, he spent his early years in Nidau, near Biel  helping his parents run their restaurant where he developed both a love of food and a desire to become a chef. The first taste he clearly remembers is that of Emmental cheese. "It was so tasty and so different from my previous food of vegetables and cereals." He began his apprenticeship at a local hotel at the age of fifteen, and by the age of twenty-five had became one of the youngest Chefs to receive the coveted Chef de Cuisine Diploma. "Food was the earliest influence on me as a child. I still remember the wonderful smell of apricots in season… it was fantastic… coming home from school to find my parents in the kitchen cooking, it all smelt so good. Theirs was basic cooking with seasonal produce. We have lost all that now, products are available all year round and I feel that's a pity, as waiting makes it more worthwhile." He worked and travelled extensively, gaining international acclaim in Italy, Canada and Japan, until he joined London's Dorchester Hotel where, in 1975, at the age of 28, he became the youngest ever Maître Chef de Cuisine. He stayed at the Dorchester for 13 years and with his skill and energy brought the hotel two Michelin stars. In April 1988 Anton Mosimann left to establish his own dining club, Mosimann's "I want people to say: Mosimann's food: so simple, honest and yet so good! For this you need the right attitude and also I believe you have to give pleasure to other people, to be excited by it, and want to do better than yesterday." He has, by special invitation, catered for the British Royal family as well as leading public figures worldwide. He has won international awards including La Croix de Chevalier du Mérite Agricole from the French Ministry of Agriculture (1988), Personality of the Year (1986), an honorary degree from Bournemouth University (1998) and an honorary Doctorate of Culinary Arts from Johnson and Wales University, Charleston, USA, Master Chef's Diploma-The youngest Chef to receive this Diploma from Switzerland (1972). His philosophy is that “…chicken should taste like chicken and fish like fish. That's vital. So many people try to overpower good produce. Keep it simple.“ "One day I would like to have a museum. I have also dreamt of having a castle. So that would be it: in my castle I would have a museum of cookery, to share my experience and knowledge with other people." After leaving the Dorchester he has always kept all his ex-chefs close to him and continually arranges get togetherS and has first hand knowledge of all their developments. He is a great mentor and someone that is always on hand to help, council and advise. He was one of a few chefs across Europe that raised the profile and standing of chefs in the media and thus the public eye and I am sure that a lot of today's "tv chefs" are so because of the great work undertaken by a great chef and true gentleman.... Michel and Albert Roux More often referred to as the Roux Brothers these two classical chefs are a culinary legend. Michel with his older brother Albert  arrived in England from France in 1971 to open the original Le Gavroche Restaurant in Lower Sloane Street, London. The address was imprinted immediately onto the gourmets and gourmands across the country. By 1972 when they opened The Waterside Inn, they had a total of 3 restaurants in London, each a landmark in a city not then known for its fine dining. Between them they have trained over 800 young chefs many of whom are now also legendary. Heston Blumenthal Critically acclaimed restaurateur who is regarded as more alchemist than chef. Born in London in 1966, spending his childhood in  Berkshire where he still lives with his wife and three children. With no formal cookery training he is likely to use liquid nitrogen and a vacuum when producing dishes. As a teenager he visited France with his parents, stopping in a small village in Provence, he visited the L'Oustau de Baumaniere, in Les Baux de Provence, one of France's greatest restaurants. It was while there that he was first exposed to the world of gastronomy and was immediately consumed by it. On returning home he attempted to gain a position in the kitchen of London’s' hotels and restaurants but at just sixteen this proved difficult. Undeterred he spent the next decade learning the rudiments of French cuisine from books, and worked in various jobs to fund his trips to France. On these trips he visited restaurants, vineyards, cheese makers, butchers and artisan producers. His research was extensive, thorough and determined, attributes which soon became the trademarks of his success. He opened his first restaurant The Fat Duck, in the village of Bray, Berkshire, in 1995 and by 2004 it had received his third Michelin star and was voted best restaurant in the UK by the Good Food Guide 2007. Pierre Koffman Despite being French and having grown up in rural Gascony,  Pierre Koffmann is regarded as one of the masters of the English restaurant scene, and a founder of modern cuisine. An insperation to many of today's senior chefs, always listed at the top of the tree by the likes of Marco Pierre White. Renowned for his own style of cooking, reflecting his background in haute cuisine, but with a strong flavour of traditional French country cooking. He traces his passion back to his grandmother's cooking and is proud to have carried her traditions into the 21 centuary. Now holding 2 Michelin stars, Pierre Koffmann has made an invaluable contribution to English cuisine. Marco Pierre White Born in 1961, one of the most creative and innovative of English chef/restaurateurs. Known as much for his quick and fiery temper as for  his exceptional kitchen skills. Regarded by some as the first celebrity chef and by many as the godfather of modern English cusiene. Awarded three Michelin stars, he has placed English food upon the worlds table on a par with classic haute cusiene. Educated at Allerton High School in Leeds, leaving without gaining any qualifications and so deciding to train as a chef. His career began at the Hotel St George in Harrogate, continuing at the Box Tree in Ilkley. Even today references to the Box Tree still appear on Marcos menus, ‘Box Tree Rice Pudding’ for example. He began his classical training while working as a commis chef at Le Gavroche, London, under the tutelage of Albert and Michel Roux. Albert Roux is known to refer to Marco as “my little bunny”. Next came a period with Pierre Koffman at La Tante Claire, followed by time in the kitchens of Raymond Blanc. Eventually it was time for Marco to run his own kitchen, and he did this at the Six Bells in the Kings Road, London, working closely with Mario Batali. Marco retired from kitchen in 1999, serving his final customers at the Oak Room in December of that year and returning his three Michelin stars. He now has extensive interests in a number of restaurants, including a chain of budget Italian restaurants called ‘Frankie’s’, which he owns in partnership with jockey Frankie Dettori. His pride and joy, however, is The Yew Tree Inn, a 17th century dining pub located near Highclere in North Hampshire. He has acted as mentor to many prominent chefs in recent years, including Gordon Ramsay and Heston Blumenthal Heston. A recent autobiography includes a photograph of Gordon Ramsay in tears, the result of Ramsay making a mistake and Marco shouting at him. When asked about making Gordon cry Marco commented "I didn't make Gordon cry, he chose to cry…" During his early career he regularly ejected customers from his restaurants if he took offence at their comments. When asked for a side order of chips Marco hand-cut and personally cooked the chips, charging the customer £25 for the honour. A young chef at Harveys, who once complained of heat in the kitchen, had the back of his chef's jacket and trousers cut open with a sharp paring knife. "I was being judged by people who had less knowledge than me, so what was it truly worth? I gave Michelin inspectors too much respect, and I belittled myself. I had three options: I could be a prisoner of my world and continue to work six days a week, I could live a lie and charge high prices and not be behind the stove, spend time with my children and re-invent myself." | |
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