What made you decide to be a chef?

The first chef job I fell into was while I was travelling. I loved the atmosphere in a kitchen and the overall the environment. As this progressed into a career it became about working alongside like-minded people, with similar passions and bouncing ideas around. I was attracted to the execution, perfection, attention to detail and intricate precision that you need as a chef and my journey with food is forever evolving and changing, from the style of food I create, to the flavours.

I took inspiration from my extensive travelling as a child where I was able to experience a variety of cuisines and was immersed in different cultures.  Mothers Sunday roast, baking with grandparents, visiting markets along the coast were all things I loved to do.

I just love the way food brings people together and how it can initiate conversation.

 

From our new 2025 menu, which dishes are your favourite?

I like to try and bring everything to the table when it comes to writing the menu for Hyde. I understand that the menu has to cater for a wide variety of people and so I try to tick a lot of boxes that meet the different needs of our clients and have something for everyone.

My favourite aspect of the menu is the canapés. I use canapés to showcase different techniques, ingredients and flavours. I love designing them and creating new combinations and twists. They are also a great way to encourage people to taste and experience new foods.

My top choices for canapés from the 2025 menu are the bourbon glazed tempeh, potato pave with truffle and caviar, treacle cured salmon with pickled pear, lotus root and créme fraiche, whipped goats cheese on crisp bread with redcurrant marmalade and the lobster salad with squid ink tapioca.

For starter, I would have the whipped feta with charred asparagus and I really like the sharing concept and so my main course choice would be either the feasting mustard and garlic crusted sirloin of beef or the slow cooked shoulder of lamb, with spiced parmentier potatoes and za’atar roasted carrots with chickpeas and pomegranate.  For dessert I would choose the caramelised white chocolate cheesecake.

 

What are your top tips for couples when making their menu choices?

Go with the things that you want. Go for more adventurous canapés and lots of sides with different variations to elevate the feasting experience.

 

What do you love the most about being the head chef at Hyde House?

My favourite thing about being head chef at Hyde is the happiness that my food brings to people on their special day and the flexibility and creative freedom to do the food I want.

As you may have already seen from our Instagram and recent Journal post, we have a new Menu that launched earlier this month at Hyde House and we’re just a *tiny* bit excited about it! Some of our lovely Couples have already managed to see and taste our new offering at recent Tasting Evenings, but for those of you who haven’t just yet, we’ve shared imagery of our new Feasting Menu (click the link to see earlier post), next week we’re talking all things plated dishes, and today, it’s all about Canapés!

Canapés are such an important part of any Wedding Day Menu. They’re the very first Wedding food that your guests will see, smell and taste and as such, our Chef’s have put so much love and hard work in to making sure that our Canapés not only taste delicious but that they look really beautiful as well. There has also been a lot of care put in to creating an offering that has lots of variety so that every personal preference or specific dietary requirement can be catered for.

We hope you enjoy looking through our brand new Canapés below and we have also made a note of what each dish is under the image collages so you can start making a shortlist for your Big Day 😊.

 

Top to Bottom: Chicken Liver Parfait on toasted brioche, Salt Baked Celeriac, truffle and pickled celeriac (v), Tuna Taco with yoghurt, wasabi and ginger, Artichoke tempura with saffron aioli (v, df)

 

Lamb bon bon with pea and mint, Wild mushroom truffle arancini with parmesan (v), Ox Cheek Crumpet with chestnuts and cranberry

 

Honey Soy Glazed Salmon and toasted sesame (gf, df), Aubergine tartare on puffed pasta crisp (v), Beef Carpaccio with truffle emulsion and shaved pecorino

 

Crab Salad with pickled radish, apple and dill (df), Crispy ham hock with burnt miso caramel, coriander and spring onion, Bloody Mary Bocconcini (v)

 

Images by Laura Harvey Photography