Toby has spent nine years honing his craft working for Adam Smith, having worked under him since he left school.
Mentorship and Experience
It was Adam who encouraged Toby to do the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts scholarship, after which he spent time at Ynyshir under Gareth Ward. His career was also enriched by a recent season at Stockholm’s three-Michelin-starred Frantzén. He is now settled back at Coworth Park and the newly opened Woven by Adam Smith.
Final Menu and Culinary Approach
With world-class mentorship behind him, Toby says he has learnt what it takes to compete and feels that his creativity is one of his greatest strengths in the kitchen.
His final menu and culinary approach are influenced by personal passion and crafting dishes that he genuinely loves to eat. He believes you can’t cook something to your full ability if you wouldn’t love to eat it yourself.
Inspiration, Advice and The Future
Naturally, Toby cites Adam Smith as one of the chefs who’s had the greatest impact on his development but also highlights Gareth Ward and every one of his senior chefs who has taken time to teach him.
With a dream of one day opening his own restaurant, Toby says that winning YNCOTY would be an honour and a great step towards his future in the industry. The best piece of advice he’s ever received is simply not to rush and to take the time to learn things properly. To his fellow young chefs considering entering competitions, Toby would advise that there’s nothing to lose and just to go for it.