TOM'S STORY

Born and bred in the West Midlands, Tom's journey into the culinary world began as an unexpected twist of fate.

​

In his teenage years, Tom's interests and passions leaned more towards sports and motorsport, with little thought given to the kitchen. But that all changed at the age of 18, when he took a trainee manager role at New Hall Hotel in Walmley. It was there that he took his first step into a professional kitchen, and under the mentorship of Head Chef Wayne Thompson uncovered a passion and natural aptitude for cooking he never knew he had.

 

"I fairly quickly felt like I'd found my calling. I owe Wayne a huge amount, he laid the foundation for my career and drilled into me that the kitchen works on respect, something that I’ve never forgotten."

​​

After three formative years at New Hall, Tom set his sights on new challenges, which led to him taking on subsequent roles of Sous-Chef at Swinfen Hall Hotel and later working his way up to the role of Sous-Chef at The Samling restaurant in the Lake District - another milestone moment in his career where he played a pivotal role in regaining The Samling's Michelin star at 23 years old.

​​

That first taste of Michelin-level cooking only deepened his appetite to grow and refine his skills, leading him to take on his next role as Sous-Chef at two-Michelin-starred Michael Wignall at The Latymer. 

​

“Michael is known for his incredibly detailed and technical cooking style, and I was eager to learn from that. I remember walking into the kitchen and being amazed by the luxurious and exotic ingredients he was using. The menus were extensive, 10 to 12 courses, and aesthetically the finesse and detail on his plating was just stunning.”

 

After gaining invaluable experience under Wignall, Tom moved to another two-starred kitchen, Restaurant Sat Bains, this time as Development Chef. 

 

“Sat had always been an idol for me, so when a post popped up on Instagram to say that he was looking for a chef to help extract every last ounce of flavour from each ingredient, I jumped at it, I just had to go for it. His approach was completely different to The Latymer—just four or five ingredients per dish rather than the 17 or 18, but each one pushed to its limit. Working alongside Sat and understanding how his mind approaches flavour was just incredible.”