Sometimes all we hear about this time of year is kids going back to school. Over the past six weeks the shops have been littered with posh pencil cases and fancy protractors awaiting their first day of a new academic year. New shoes will be getting scuffed, uniforms getting stained and homework will begin again.
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At the same time as one journey begins for some another journey comes to an end. The GCSE results have been out over the summer (this makes me feel ancient) and the one question kids are asking their mates is "what grades did you get"? Now if you're a high flyer  going for A levels then Oxford that's great. But what if your best mate isn't that academic and your life journeys are about to split. This is what a school won't teach you - making the best of what you have.

In my day the GCSE's were graded A*- C for a recognised pass. This would guarantee a place on your next educational course. I wasn't a high flyer and came away from school with a minimal education. I knew I was more of an active guy than an academic one anyway and didn't take kindly to sitting at another desk for a few years. I wanted my career to be exciting and didn't follow the rest to sixth form. I only had a passion for food and wanted to cook so I applied at Stratford Upon Avon College. Whilst on this course I had to resit my I.T. GCSE as it was a requirement for the course, but scraped on with my remaining other grades. After the two year course you had the option to leave or stop on for another year and specialize in the kitchen or front of house. I stopped on and specialized whilst many left to enter the hospitality and catering world. If I had the chance to do it all over again I feel that extra year, almost free training was priceless in the greater picture. The detail, the opportunities and the foundation for growth were all inside that last year. I've also found that asking the question even when you think it's going to be a no can turn out to be a yes. School will tell you if you don't achieve predicted grades and fulfill your potential at that given moment, somehow you could be doomed. Along the way I've found many people have no clue about what they want to become successful in, they just take opportunity when it turns up and is offered through hard work.

​If you've just finished school and the grades didn't go your way don't get down. Just think what you're good at and what you enjoy, find a course that you like and inquire, ring them up and keep ringing them until your talking to the right person (persistence is admirable and will get you places). You might get in and have to resit one exam (remember you're not the only one in the world resitting an exam). Keep your head up and focus on the end goal, ask questions and carry on asking them until you know the answer. Remember this is higher education and people of all ages and all backgrounds apply. This isn't the end of the road, it could be the beginning!

​Thanks for reading

​The Secret Chef
​Ashlee
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​Its very difficult to put into words what Christmas means to everyone, although we all have something that we do, a place we go or maybe a routine we have. Christmas spirit lingers in the air and we all seem to wonder where the year has gone.

Its the season to be jolly, I hope you've been good this year? Is Santa going to come or will he just leave me a bag of coal? How many mince pies should I leave out and Does Santa drink milk or whisky? What should I get for him and what should I get for her? How am I going to get round all the family this year? Will the turkey fit in the oven? I'm guessing these are questions that we all have going on over the festive period, the struggle is real!

You will find yourself listening to others sharing their Christmas solutions from last year and how everything was perfect and magical but on the other hand is there any reason to keep up with the Jones' at Christmas. Christmas should be surrounded by family, loved ones and friends because no matter how many presents Santa brings or how flash your turkey is you can never get the time back. I've worked through many a festive period and I can safely say there is no price on Christmas. For me Christmas is a time that brings people together, enjoying some festive treats and plenty of plonk.

As life gets busier and your commitments get greater, remember that you can always make time for people you want to see at Christmas. The magic of Christmas lies within everybody but sometimes its hard to say I care. Inevitably we all do what we think we want, but how many people really are happy at Christmas. Maybe this year you might make that journey, visit that friend or see a relative. As Christmas is about giving and not receiving maybe Christmas is for caring.

Have a merry little Christmas!
The Secret Chef  

 At the age of 16 I had a definite idea of what I wanted to do with my life . The journey to become a chef, the sacrifices I was willing to make were just the beginning in what was to become a culinary adventure.

​For every person that put a negative reason why I shouldn't follow my dream I could think of two positives to cancel out the negatives. It's going to be hard and long hours, your not good enough. Every time anything like this was laid in front of me I always continued regardless.

I cook because its the reason I was put on this earth. I believe we all have a skill and should pursue it even if we have to make a few compromises along the way. I cook because it relaxes me and I can be completely at ease with a pot, pan and a knife - not always in that order. I've meet some very interesting characters along my journey who have taught me many skills in the kitchen and many more about myself. I bear a trade that can bring joy to someone's wedding cooking for hundreds of guests knowing that I will always be a part of someone's special day is a gift to me. I have the privilege to share the emotion and be at the party but not truly in it. At the same time I can cater for a wake and see it from a complete different angle. Empathy is another attribute you must bear in these challenging times.

​Knowing what your customer wants comes from listening and listening is how we grow, learn and develop our skill. Whilst training I learnt both front of house and back of house skills. Whilst always being drawn to the kitchen I always had the chance to see the waiting side of things. This helped with understanding waiters/waitresses and how the two jobs united to achieve a service.   

​As a chef you will miss a lot but you will gain more with resilience. The industrial kitchen is a regimental team of talented chefs. It was once a family to me - we worked, lived and partied together. Whilst most of my school mates were following higher education and University  I was working every hour under the sun. But every hour taught me the art of food , the passion within.

​I will always cook and crave good food. The more I push my boundaries the more alive I feel. The adrenaline and euphoria held together will keep me putting my whites on for years to come.  

This picture was taken on my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary. Family and friends flew from around the world to celebrate and this table was twice as big to fit us all on. If I can remember rightly the food was impeccable and we were in a gorgeous French restaurant enjoying the fine local produce. This is by far the biggest celebratory meal I can recall and it was lovely to catch up with distant family that unfortunately we don't always get time to see. 

Little did I know that a couple of years down the line my grandmother would be fighting for her life and I would be attending my great aunts funeral. This was and still is a difficult time for family. When I found out about my grandmother I lost sense of being and only God will know how my Grandad stayed so strong. There was a lot of unknown ground to cross and many nights I tried to figure out what I could do to help.

There was only one thing I could give and that was my skill, Food. I would cook with my granddad and we experimented with have a dozen recipes over a few beers. Then of course there was my Nans famous gingerbread biscuits which had to be mastered (they had to be perfect Grandad said for people who visited my nan in hospital) not to dark and not to light he'd say.

Cooking has not just been my profession it's helped me help loved ones when I cant even help. It was almost like a silent way to say I'm here. The impact this had when my nan came home was that you couldn't actually get my granddad out the kitchen, something I guess my nan loved some days and wasn't fond of on others. Nevertheless when you give the reward is greater and in turn helps you.

when the family went to say goodbye to my great aunt at a beautiful chapel in Buxton I followed the hearse with all the traffic making way I could only try to hold the tears back. At this point my nan had recovered and my granddad was back to his fighting form. My granddad supported his brother before and after the funeral. There was nothing I could do to help the situation but I could give and give is what I did.

Whilst preparing food for the wake, it wasn't work, it wasn't a job, it was my emotion in savoury and pastry. The emotional connection whilst preparing food to be transported made what I was giving extremely sentimental. It took me hours to prepare the simplest things as I knew where they where going, who was going to be mourning and who they were in memory of. when I delivered the food my granddads brother was extremely grateful. It was an extra stress that they didn't want to think about and I don't blame them in the slightest. To me it was the only thing I could give.

So if your reading this It may be difficult to see where I'm going and why have I shared this. Well its very simple, if you have a skill give it when it matters not just when it pays. From my experience I've learnt that you are not only helping your family and friends, your helping yourself.

The Secret Chef

Ashlee

In September I catered for a Wedding Reception at Hepworth Village Hall. We produced a Shepherds pie and Champagne evening giving guests the chance to mingle. 

My clients wanted a very informal Wedding Reception with a bit of a twist. It had to be a modern, elegant and very sophisticated. 

We made loads of individual Shepherds pies piped with duchess potato and the vegetarians indulged in individual vegetarian moussaka layered with love. 

Whilst this was being served to all the guests we began the challenge of building a 3 ft croquembouche that was made up of 300 profiteroles and 10 kg of caramel. As people were coming to the bar they watched this tower of magic being built. Every pan of caramel had to be strategically planned to come off the stove at the right time to keep a steady flow of the building process.

A Croquembouche is a Classic French Dessert consisting of Choux pastry balls piped with pastry cream, piled in a cone and bound with threads of caramel. This is a very trendy alternative wedding cake and continues to produce the wow factor.

The evening was filled with acoustic singers, a live cover band that rocked the socks off everyone, some really good Champagne and guests dancing into the early hours.

Thanks for having us 

Ashlee


 

They say life is like a box of chocolates and you just don't know what is going to come next!

Whilst catering for a birthday party last month we noticed that there was a guy who seemed quite out of place. After being asked by numerous guests who he was and quite a bit of confusion we worked it out. It seemed that this guy had thought it was quite alright to crash the party and wandered around regardless.

The birthday girl said to the unknown party goer, " If you would like to stay at my party you are more than welcome, but you have to dance!" in reply he said "I'll think about it"

An hour or so had passed when the party crasher returned with his partner in crime, both wearing afro wigs dragging every single unexpected lady on to the dance floor. We could not believe it, serving food in stitches of laughter all night. The cheeky devils!

Thought this might make you laugh

Ashlee 

Last Saturday night I decided to transform the local tennis club into a Wine and cheese tasting venue. We had an evening filled with 21 different wines from around the world with cheeses to complement and mingle music. 

 I guess this was not going to just happen over night and needed a slight bit of a brainstorm. I started by getting back in touch with Gurt's florist in Honley that also run The Grape Room. I'd been to one of their tastings in the past and saw the kind of set up I was looking for: very informal and interactive whilst keeping the sophisticated vibe. So a date was set and cheeses were carefully picked to match the wines. Tickets were printed and promotion was next on the cards.

This is where my right hand man for the evening comes in, Mr Tom Slingsby aka Sous Chef @ Ashlee's Chef Secrets. We put our heads together to get the best from the evening and make it one event that I'm sure will be remembered with the next glass of plonk. The mood was set by maybe one the best playlists we'd ever managed to conjure up. Anything and including Live lounge, The Lighthouse family, Emeli Sande, Ed Sheeran, Maverick Sabre and Ellie Goulding slipped out the speakers.

On arrival, guests were greeted with a glass of wine to start there evening off. They were given a list of all the wines that were available to try and a chance to indulge some more with their favourite by ordering it on the night. Each wine was worth a certain amount of coupons which were dished out on the door, adding to the interaction of the evening. Guests would use there coupons to try their fancy on the wine list. Colourful cheeses were settled on posh biscuits and created aroma throughout the bustle. 

If I could describe the evening looking from the outside, it was a very relaxed way to get to know your wine and some locally made cheeses. A great way to meet new people, gain some knowledge and have a bit of a mingle around. By the end of the evening, the wine and cheese tasting may have turned into a wine and cheese rave, still holding its glory!

Id just like to say on mine an Tom's behave it's been an absolute pleasure in organising and seeing it become a successful event. 

Thanks for getting involved

Ashleex

Last month, I was delighted to be asked to cater for an event organised by 'Themensroom' in Holmfirth, West Yorkshire. In aid of Hepworth Junior & Infant School, it was an evening inspired by Roaring 20's America and F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel - The Great Gatsby. 

Hepworth Village Hall came alive as guests arrived in outfits befitting the glamour of one of Gatsby's exclusive parties. A jazz band welcomed invitees and played late into the night while there was also a champagne and cigar raffle. Of course, alongside this, there was also the small matter of a 3 course meal, prepared lovingly by me..... 

Catering for 80 people, it was my biggest event to-date and a really great occasion to be a part of. On the menu was a Goat's cheese, pear and walnut salad to start with a main course of roast chicken breast with patatas bravas, parsnip crisps and thyme jus, and a dark chocolate mousse with sesame toffee snap. For the vegetarian guests I made an individual roast root vegetable, Camembert and red onion jam pie. 

The feedback I received on the night and after the event was overwhelming and it was great to be able to part of a great cause and a highly unique evening. 

Of course, I couldn't have catered on this scale without the assistance of my trusty team for the evening who were a great help in waiting on tables and maintaining the upkeep of the kitchen: thanks team! 

The menu I provided for The Great Gatsby Evening was bespoke and catered towards the choices of the organisers. If you'd like further information on the packages I provide, you can find these here or alternatively, give me a call directly on 07740101568. 

Cheers for now, 

Ashlee