Getting To Know You – Dan Rowbotham
Tell us a bit about your life at HPC Dan?
“I have been working for Somerset Larder for 9 months now. I started out working in West kitchen in a fairly large team. It’s vital that everyone works as a team at HPC due to the sheer scale of the catering operation, breakfast service is on another level and on a scale that not many restaurants in the UK would ever see, it could not be done without the state of the art equipment and experienced chefs I get to work with each and every day”
Where on site can we get to meet you?
“Recently I was asked to go help start up the latest restaurant, North Office Annex Café (NOAC), which is where you will find me. This has been a fantastic experience and learning curve as now I get to work more independently with more accountability for the quality of our food. NOAC has given me the opportunity to show initiative and I enjoy taking charge of both breakfast and lunch. Everything that goes out on the counter is prepared by me and I take immense pride in that, I hope you get to see that when you come and visit!”
You obviously love working as a chef, tell us a bit about your previous jobs:
In 2017 I left university to pursue cooking, I started at a hotel working as a trainee chef. They put me through a hospitality industry training apprenticeship where I got to work with a ton of ingredients and travel to Exeter regularly to do a cookery school. Through this job I also managed to gain work experience in other kitchens such as the Chateau la Chaire in Jersey; a 3 rosette seafood restaurant.
In 2019 I started working for a wedding venue situated in a huge stately manor home near the sea. My jobs consisted of making canapés and fresh bread for every wedding. Service was intense and we sometimes averaged 90 hour weeks. The job was rewarding but I do not miss working every weekend! HPC has given me an opportunity to have much more freedom outside my job.
If you could share some food trend knowledge, what would it be?
For the last couple of years vegan food has definitely been on the rise. I’m a strong believer that you don’t need to imitate meat for vegan food to taste and look amazing. With this being said, some of the methods to achieve vegan foods that look like meat amaze me. I recently ate vegan pastrami and it was delicious, I am going to try and make it myself soon using Seitan.
Although I am not strictly a vegan I really enjoy cooking it and I feel like it is a whole new form of food I need to discover and experiment with. It is important to research and learn vegan because it is becoming its own industry. With all the health, environment and sustainability factors surrounding it, it means people are steadily gathering an interest.