Chef spotlight: why I’m opening a gastro street food van

Aged 14, nearly three decades ago – I know, I don’t look old enough – but it was in my early 20s that I did an NVQ and started climbing the ladder as a chef de partie at a two-Rosette restaurant, after moving to Suffolk from Bournemouth. I’ve been cheffing at The Bell in Carlton Colville for seven years but have just cut my days back to focus on starting my own outside catering company called Seconds Catering.

I like change and trying new things in the kitchen and work-wise. So a friend and I are doing gourmet hotdogs, bánh mì and other high-quality street food from our new van as well as cooking for private dinner parties, weddings, festivals and corporate events. We’ve done a sit-down wedding for 120 that went really well and we’re getting a lot of enquiries. Not having overheads gives us the freedom to move into new areas, from pop-ups for pubs right through to county shows. It’s exciting.

I love experimenting and travelling, so I combine the two to create dishes based on my travels. That means I’m big into fusion cooking and providing a modern twist on classic dishes. My sister lives in the States, so I tried crispy curried polenta, crusted okra, tomato and avocado salsa with roasted garlic mayo. So a blend of American and Asian can work beautifully. Customers loved the combination of flavours and ingredients they’d never tried before, but I also like cooking with gamey meats and working with breweries for ingredients and pairings.

We’re by the sea – good because fish is a real passion. I love cooking with sea bass. It’s so versatile because you can complement it with so many different flavours, sauces and spices. Even with just a simple beurre blanc or a Thai green curry sauce, it’s a winner on the menu. I also love working with pheasant and venison.

Like most chefs I’m quite time-poor, so I love the fact I can easily keep up with new trends and then adapt them to make them mine! The magazine gives me an insight into techniques and tips, gels and powders, new products and how to use them. There’s also useful info on how to market your business and advice on things that go hand in hand with running a food operation. It provides inspiration through other chefs’ stories and is one of the few catering magazines that really looks the part and isn’t just a sales sheet.

I’m glad I entered and won because it’s given me a chance to showcase my new venture. Word of mouth and exposure will be as important as producing consistently brilliant food for our new business. We know it’s a bit of a gamble but we’re getting a lot of interest and hopefully this article will help with that.