Ollie started his career at the Royal Household, doing his apprenticeship first at the University of West London and then finishing at Bournemouth and Poole College. After almost five years working for the Royal Household, he moved to Lucknam Park to work at Restaurant Hywel Jones, where he has been for 16 months.

Inspiration to become a chef

Cooking with his dad from a young age at home, combined with his love for food, inspired Ollie to pursue a career as a chef. His long-term goals in the culinary world are to keep improving his skills as a chef and continue to learn as much as he can in the hope of one day having a restaurant of his own.

Ollie loves the workplace environment of a kitchen and says there is never a dull day. He finds working as a team and producing great food together extremely rewarding. He also enjoys seeing the changes in the season reflected in the dishes and the menu, and the creativity used to change the menu while keeping it new and exciting.

He found it very exciting but unexpected when he discovered he was a finalist for Young National Chef of the Year. He found out on the night of winning the Annual Awards of Excellence and felt honoured to be accepted into such a great competition.

This year’s brief

Ollie thinks the brief is exciting. Monkfish is such a versatile fish and so many ideas immediately came to mind. Whole chicken is something he’s very familiar with, so he was happy to see it as the main course. For the dessert, it was great to see how the brief allows for plenty of room for personality to come into the dishes, with the only real parameter being an egg-based mousse and a great selection of purées to use.

Culinary influences

Everyone at the Royal Household had a massive influence on Ollie. As an apprentice, he learned how to work in a kitchen and how to cook. With the food being very classical, it allowed him to gain an amazingly broad base of knowledge and an understanding of ingredients. Hywel Jones has been a great role model for him since starting at Lucknam Park. He leads by example and is an extremely hard worker. Having had the career he has and the accolades he has achieved, it’s inspiring to see day in and day out.

Staying humble

Ollie stays motivated by entering competitions like YNCOTY, which allow him to keep pushing and learning. The whole experience of doing competitions is both humbling and rewarding. He also thinks it’s important to get on with your colleagues, as team morale keeps everyone motivated through long hours and tough days, and it is great to work with people that share the same passion. The best piece of advice Ollie has received so far in his career is: “Work hard and good things will come.”

An amazing year

Winning Young National Chef of the Year would be amazing. A lot of hard work goes into competitions, and to win would be the cherry on top for a year that has been amazing personally.

A classic roast

His favourite dish to cook would be Sunday roast. Although it’s simple, the whole process of cooking for family and friends and enjoying spending time together and eating together is what cooking is really all about for him.