James Brown, Head of Culinary for UK and NI at Unilever Food Solutions, reveals his unusual journey… from harbour kitchens and the beach, to working for a brand

How did you start working in food?

It wasn’t very romantic at the start; I mainly needed the money! I worked in kitchens in the school holidays. I enjoyed the environment, especially in Cornwall where we lived, with all the fresh produce. One of my earliest memories was being sent down to the harbour to get lobsters. Of course, I got the wrong ones, got shouted at, and had to go back! I later went to catering college, then worked at Le Petit Blanc in its early days – Sat Bains was there on pastry. After that I went to London, working at the Bluebird, among others. After a while, I realised I didn’t have the right temperament, and didn’t perform well in high intensity restaurants. But I recognised that in multi-site, large-volume restaurants, there was a way to make a good living and still produce quality food. So, I had stints looking after the Polpo restaurants and The Breakfast Club. Along the way I’ve also run my own sustainable restaurant and a food delivery service. It’s been varied!

What does your job as Head of Culinary entail? What is a typical day?

There isn’t really a typical day, it’s rare for two days to be the same! One day I’ll be doing culinary inductions with our own people, another I could be judging a competition such as NACC Care Chef of the Year. A big part of my job is running workshops with customers. For example, if someone is doing a big push on ramen, we’ll do a deep dive with them – make ramen from scratch and then show them how to hack that process with our products.

What are the perks of working as a development chef?

One big one is that I work standard office hours now, Monday to Friday. My wife and I recently had a baby so we wanted to get a better work-life balance. I get to travel; in the past nine months I’ve been to New York, the Netherlands, Germany and Ireland. It’s exciting, but it does mean you’re not running a busy restaurant service. You’re taking a different route, but you still cook, you’re still a chef, passionate about food and knowledgeable about the industry – you’re just inputting in a different way.

For more info, go here: unileverfoodsolutions.co.uk

My 3 faves

Intense Flavours Smoke The smoky flavour is so on-trend. Make a simple smoked mayonnaise or brush on steak or burgers – fantastic.

Colman’s English Mustard It’s the only mustard that hits you the way it does, making your nose run! So versatile – great with honey or mixed into mayo.

Marmite I can’t abide it on toast but as an ingredient, I love it. If you’re a lover, look for exciting new products with M&S this year!