Testimonials

Fraser Ross

I joined this company in January 2005, after being impressed when visiting the Saxon Mill and seeing their varied menu. I approached an ex-colleague who was running the kitchen of a busy site in Harpenden and as the business grew he needed strong people to join him in the kitchen.

I started as a Sous Chef, and then took over as Head Chef when he moved to a new opening. I am currently running the kitchen of a new site in a prestigious part of North London, producing 1500-2000 covers per week.

What I like about this business is that my career has been as quick to develop as the new openings. Since being here I've learnt more than how to run a kitchen, I've become more commercially aware and know how to grow the sales and maintain a healthy profit.

Chris Goodchild

I was introduced to the group by being taken to dinner at the Belvedere Arms, when I first came to the UK. From the minute I walked in I was blown away by the style of the place - it's modern, open, airy and happening. The food is classic dishes with a modern touch, dishes that really appeal to the guests, where the focus is on quality.

Although I had been a Head Chef at a number of establishments on the Gold Coast, I was happy to start as a Sous Chef to get in with them. What really appeals is the flexibility to present the food the way we want.

The kitchen set-up is first class and both the front-of-house and kitchen teams work well together. I have now moved to head the kitchen in our flagship site in the North. Everyone in the group, including the Managing Partners, are approachable and encourage new ideas, which has made me feel like I'm an important part of this business.

Chris is currently in Australia and will make a welcome return in 2008.

Emil Forde

I joined the group in 2005 as Head Chef at The Fox in Harpenden, I was then asked to open a larger site situated next to the Thames near Richmond.

This was a great opportunity as although The Fox was a brilliant business, The Albany would challenge me more during the summer months as we could accommodate over 300 dinners outside as a well as our usual 80 or so inside.

Riding high on the success of these two ventures I then moved into an openings role in 2007 to support new chefs and new sites with all that is required from a strong back of house team.

After a fairly hectic few years I now have my feet firmly planted on the ground at the Scottsbridge Mill near Rickmansworth. This suits me as we have had the challenge of attracting a completely new customer base to this former branded site.

 So far so good but I do have one or two more challenges I would like to tackle!

Ian Wilson

Having joined in 2006 I immediately went into training at the Inn on the lake in Godalming. Training I thought! I’m a 36 year old chef with loads of experience, what can I learn? As it happens it was worthwhile as I knew nothing of the back office procedures and only some of the strict health and safety policy.

So next I was roped into two openings both very different as one ran with a brand new chef and one with someone who was my previous Sous chef from B&D. This really did open my eyes to a lot of issues which may arise if things are not planned properly. So, trained and prepared I went into my opening The Arkle Manor near Reigate.

Although what I’d seen so far was pretty good I was a little unnerved to overhear a guest at the opening party say that this business will never work as it’s in the wrong place. Slightly disheartened we set about our daily routine of running quite a large site.

I am now proud to say that my so-called failure is a complete and utter success. I‘ve have had an incredible 14 months, business is great I’ve been able to retain the same brigade I opened with, always a good sign. I’ve been able to offer support and guidance to my peers as well as train up a Sous Chef and a new Head Chef for another business. This year I will hopefully be able to offer my services and support to up and coming chefs in brand new openings.