Email: info@tyronepower-personalchef.com
Telephone: +44 (0)7920 066 075
From a very young age I was surrounded by
the bustle and buzz that a busy kitchen entails; it seems impossible that
I could have even pondered the idea of a life outside the catering industry.
My family returned to England when I was fourteen and I was introduced to
the refined world of European cuisine.Trips to France and Italy, Germany
and Spain fostered a passion for food that saw me through catering college
and back to Melbourne where the process of converting enthusiasm for consumption
into the skills of preparation really began.
I returned to the bustle and
buzz of the kitchens that had shaped my childhood and honed the techniques
required to be a good, traditional chef.
A return to the chalets, but this time in the Swiss Alps, allowed me to
digest all of the information that had been bombarding my senses for the
past months. After the season I worked my way through Europe towards the
Far East and the attraction of the new Asian Fusion style of cookery. Courses
in Hong Kong, Vietnam and Thailand led to a proficiency in a style of cooking
that is very close to my heart.
From the Far East a hop across to Australia led me back to where it all
started, but not for long; Europe was once again calling and, after a third
chalet ski season I found myself firmly ensconced in the world of charter
yachting. Sailing as a private chef means constantly changing sources of
produce, one day a Lebanese port, the next Portofino in Italy.
Eventually, I procured a contract working as a Private Chef on a family-owned
super yacht sailing out of Monaco. With an unlimited budget and access to
produce from across the world I was delighted to push the boundaries of my
employer’s taste.
Fish markets in St. Tropez, spices in Antibes
and olive oil in Rhodes- a limitless supply of fresh local produce with which
to practice and enhance the skills gained from my travel, study and previous
work.
Being an aussie and loving to travel, I packed my bags
at the age of twenty-four and set off on a culinary journey that would change
the way I look at food. Always a lover of skiing, a season working as a private
chalet chef in the French Alps was first on my list and thus began a tradition
of chalet work, to which I often find myself returning.
With the currency
of a season’s work behind me, the hotter climes
and mystery of the Arabesque style of cooking drew me to North Africa, where
I spent several months exploring the markets of Egypt and Tunisia, Morocco
and Syria. Observing the street vendors in the Place D’Jemma
El Fna in Marrakech gave me a great appreciation of the aromas, textures
and tastes that can be achieved my adding pastes and marinades to fish and
meat, thus enhancing local staples such as cous cous and chickpeas.
However, the time has come to settle and I find myself in the West Country,
looking to offer my experience and services to discerning clients. I am a
real believer in returning to the basics for inspiration and then adding
excitement with surprising combinations and techniques. I love what I do,
particularly the intimacy of bespoke catering and private dining which gives
a chef the opportunity to interact with the diner.
Please feel free to call me to discuss any aspect of my past experience
or my current services. Thanks Ty.
In the past year I have been working as a freelance Personal
Chef throughout Europe in private homes, chalets,villas, on yachts and touring
with rock bands. One day the requirement could be a Lebanese banquet for ten,
the next an intimate al fresco dinner for two.
My parents were amongst the sixties wave of ten pound pommies that emigrated
to Australia.
Fresh from catering college and with the enthusiasm of youth
they embraced everything that a comparatively new and extremely mixed culinary
culture had to offer.
It was into this environment of endless gastronomic
possibilities that I was born.
