Story

FROM THERE TO HERE

Tom is an experienced and passionate chef with more than twenty year’s experience. Starting his career in the fine dining world of The Angel Inn at Hetton, starting work on a modern apprenticeship working through the ranks and leaving as a trained senior Chef de Partie.

Tom moved on to work in a Michelin-starred restaurant, Northcote Manor in Lancashire, working under the Chef Patron Nigel Haworth and Head Chef Lisa Allen, also becoming a sous chef at the young age of 20. Here Tom truly engaged in a high pressured atmosphere using some of the country’s best ingredients including own grown salads, vegetables and herbs.

Aged 22 Tom directed his skills towards a more relaxed environment yet larger scale operation of Harvey Nichols in Leeds. A year later Tom became Head Chef for the first time at the established Arts Café in Leeds where he created an open style sharing menu and Mezze plates with locally sourced ingredients.

Later to hone his skills around classic British food Tom moved to Sam’s Chop House in Leeds where he created classic flavoured dishes but allowed his creativity to adapt the presentation evolving old dishes into something that added an element of surprise.

From Leeds, Tom left the country to work in Scheveningen, a small costal town just outside Den Haag in The Netherlands. Tom worked in a small 30 cover restaurant Café Nero, creating fine dining cuisine alongside the Head Chef. 

 With a huge desire to broaden his skills Tom spent 6 years in Australia mainly working in Sydney. Starting his Australian culinary experience at the Four in Hand in Paddington as Sous Chef, Tom developed new-age style cuisine and techniques away from the classical French background he was used too. The Four in Hand advanced Tom’s already knowledgeable butchery skills particularly using whole pigs. The “Four” used many forward-thinking techniques including having a bee hive on the roof of the restaurant where they cultivated honey. Whilst foraging wild herbs, sea lettuce and seaweed from the ocean beds, Tom created an extra love for the outdoors.

Moving from the Four in Hand Tom started work at Jones the Grocer where he would progress to Executive Chef and was in charge of a large brigade of 14 kitchen members. Wanting to learn all sides of the business Tom became restaurant manager while also running the kitchen.

It was exciting for Tom to facilitate masterclasses of up to 150 people during this time, on topics such as fresh pasta creation and fish cleaning and cooking techniques.

Eventually Tom was approached to lead the launch of new branches of Jones the Grocers in Melbourne and Aukland, New Zealand. Training a new staff was a priority - delivering consistent high-end food across three states.

Moving back to England Tom is now with the Wildnis team, developing expertise cooking over fire to bring combinations of flavours, flare and fun to the great outdoors using seasonal and local produce.