How can entering the Graduate Awards now help a chef in the future?
The Craft Guild of Chefs recently spoke to Ieuan Davies on an Instagram live. He was the first chef to achieve the pastry and kitchen award, coming Highest Achiever in both exams.
Ieuan recently started working in his first head chef role at Lilliput Farm Kitchen which is situated near Bristol. The farm to table restaurant opened in February and he told us they have been incredibly busy ever since. The restaurant has amazing views and a strong emphasis on sustainable, seasonal ingredients.
Perfecting pastry skills
When Ieuan first entered the Pastry Graduate Awards, he was working with our current Chair of Pastry examiners Sarah Frankland at Pennyhill Park & Spa. Ieuan described what a fabulous mentor she was and how much she gave him a real insight into the world of pastry.
He had only worked in pastry for two years when he completed this exam and said the whole process of both the award itself and the mentoring from Sarah really helped him to improve his skills.
Developing knowledge
One of the key things Ieuan enjoyed about the whole Graduate Awards process was how it didn’t just focus on his practical skills, but it helped him to learn more about the industry and classic cooking. The theoretical side of these awards allows you to discover things that will help you further into your career.
A platform for competition life
After completing the pastry award, Ieuan went to work at The Manor House to get himself more experience working in a main kitchen. He loved the buzz of competitions and after seeing the kitchen side of the Graduate Awards, he knew he wanted to give that a go too.
Edward Marsh was his mentor for this award and shared his knowledge and experience throughout the process. Ieuan passed his kitchen exam on his first attempt, making history by being the only chef to have success in both elements of the Graduate Awards, an accolade that remains today.
Mentoring memories
As a finalist, Ieuan went on the mentoring trip to the Cotswolds and enjoyed learning about different produce and developing his skills for the butchery and fishmongery tasks.
This trip also really helped him to get to know the other finalists and he believes it created a community of young chefs which has been so valuable. The strong industry reputation of the Graduate Awards has created a lot of conversations and interest as he has moved into different job roles.
The next step
Achieving the Graduate Award gave Ieuan the opportunity to compete in Young National Chef of the Year and he loved this experience. It’s a competition he has done twice and is really proud of how far he got, making the final on both attempts.
The skills and training developed from the Graduate Awards experience helped him build up his confidence to compete, so much so Ieuan cooked in front of millions of people in MasterChef: The Professionals.
Ieuan said: “Culinary competitions help a chef to build character as we learn from our mistakes. You have to experience errors, or things not going exactly as planned, to help you learn and grow as a chef.”
Ieuan recommends young chefs use the Graduate Awards as a learning curve as even if you don’t pass you can try it again and you will still have improved your skills and made new connections. If you do make the grade, you will have so many new doors open.