What does it take to become a leading Chef?
We met with award-winning & UK’s #2 chef Marianne Lumb and had an inspiring conversation. She’s sharing her career advice & story on Squelo.
Marianne Lumb is a butcher’s daughter from Leicestershire. After dropping out of an architecture degree at UCL London in the late 1990s, she began her classical training in restaurants, including at the Michelin starred Gravetye Manor. From 2000 she worked as a private chef in the UK, Mediterranean, America and Australia, where she gained extensive knowledge of the local, seasonal food. She now runs her own restaurant in Notting Hill. Marianne won “London Restaurant Festival Chef of the Year 2013” and is one of only two women head chefs to be in top 50 in the UK.
When did you find your passion for food & cooking?
At a very young age … My father was the local village butcher, so I always used to be cooking at home with ingredients from his shop , oh and making a complete mess! Needless to say, things are a lot different in my kitchen now!
You dropped out of UCL — how hard and important was that decision for you?
It was a very difficult time for me personally. My father had died very suddenly and I wasn’t sure what i was going to do with my life. In hindsight it was the best decision I have ever made. The funny thing is, the thought of working at a drawing board doing architecture seemed unbearable, but now I don’t blink at spending 100 plus hours in my kitchen!
What role travelling played in your life & success?
Travel is one of my great loves! It goes beautifully with cooking because I am always learning, trying new ingredients, new dishes and getting to know the seasonal calendars. I’ve been very lucky in the short cooking contracts I’ve won. Even though they are incredibly tough hours the opportunity of using amazing ingredients is a rare one, so it’s worth it to me. And of course the travel at the end of the contracts has always been fun.
What 3 pieces of career advice can you give someone who wants to become a leading chef?
Get a minimum of three years training in well respected restaurants, ideally with at least one Michelin star.
Eat out as much as possible and read as many cookery books as you can.
Be respectful to your peers and the people you cook for. Two of my previous cooking clients have become investors and very good customers at my restaurant.
What’s your personal goal for 2016?
I have three for this year:
1) To finish my first recipe book, which catalogues the recipes in my life on the journey to the restaurant “MARIANNE”
2) To have some fun with a different style of a restaurant, we are considering a pop-up locally
3) To buy my first flat.
Connect with Marianne on Squelo.
