y parents were amongst the sixties wave of ten pound pomes 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. From a very young age I was surrounded by the bustle and buzz that a busy kitchen entails; it seems impossible that I could even have pondered the idea of any life other than one that embraced everything that the culinary world could throw into my path. My family returned to England when I was fourteen. I was suddenly introduced to the refined world of European cuisine, trips to France and Italy, Germany and Spain fostered a passion for food which saw me through catering college and back to Melbourne where the process of refining passion into skill 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. However, being a good, traditional chef was not enough for me; the wider gastronomic world beckoned and, at the age of twenty-four, I was eager to adhere to such a summons. 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 find myself returning often. 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.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 bands. One day the requirement could be a Lebanese banquet for ten, the next an intimate al fresco dinner for two. However, the time came to settle for a while and I find myself in the West Country looking to offer my experience and services to discerning clients. I am very much a believer in returning to the basics for inspiration and then adding excitement with surprising combinations and techniques.