From our "Chef Blog" we are going to bring you industry news, seasonal produce updates and recipe ideas from one of the UK's leading young chefs, Steve Walpole.
Clad in black leather and careering to a halt on his fabulous motorbike may not be the conventional way for one of the country’s best young chefs to turn up for a cookery demonstration! However, in not time at all Steven Walpole switches his engaging smile into gear, dons his professional attire and soon charms his audience with his energetic personality and wonderful cooking skills.
Having co-presented a 10 part television series (Kids Fit Squad) with Jane Wake (fitness guru Celebrity Fit Club) for Discovery Health, Steven appeared at The Vitality Show and also at The Homes Show at Excel in London.
Essex born Steven has been passionate about cooking since he started a Saturday job in a local restaurant at the age of 15 - a whole host of college qualifications, diplomas and awards followed in rapid succession and he became a full time lecturer at the famed Westminster College in London. In 2000 Steven was the highest performing candidate in the Kitchen category at the Academy of Culinary Arts Awards and in 2003 came second at the grand final in one of the most prestigious competitions on the competition circuit - the Roux Scholarship Finals making him the youngest ever lecturer to do so. He is considered to be one of the finest young chefs in the country.
Steven spent several years as a chef at the House of Commons in London and in the long summer recess gained valuable work experience in some of London’s best eating establishments including Browns Hotel, Home House, City Rhodes, Quaglinos, The Four Seasons, The Lanesborough, The Intercontinental, Le Champenois, Lloyds of London, The Boulestein and the Waterside Restaurant at Bray. He has been a finalist and medal winner in countless competitions including UK Parade de Chefs Olympia, Toque d’Or, Roux brother’s scholarship, Nestle Grand Prix Masterclass, Academy of Culinary Arts.
Steve taught at Hackney Community College where he took the parallel group of Jamie Oliver Fifteen students enabling the Fifteen Foundation to expand and be qualified to go into Fifteen or any other venue worldwide.
Television beckons and Steven presented a chefs school program on BBC UK Food, he participated in a new production on ITV (‘Transformed’) which dealt with healthy eating for obese children and has assisted on BBC Saturday Kitchen. He worked with Lotte Duncan for a new series for ITV and worked with Devitt Insurance to promote healthy eating to motorbike riders – quite a challenge! This was launched at the Super Bike Championship at Brands Hatch.
Steven lecturers on childhood obesity, and healthy eating for children is a subject that he is passionate about. He ran a Junior Chefs Academy for children at Westminster College and held nationwide workshops teaching children how to cook. He is chef consultant to the charity HOPE (www.hopeuk.info) producing healthy recipes and inspiring children and adults to get into a healthy eating scheme and well balanced diet and worked recently with Weight Watchers UK. He is a member of the Academy of Culinary Arts.
In November 2005 Steven delivered a keynote speech at the Healthy Living Forum at the Queen`s Theatre in Hornchurch which launched an exciting new theatre-in-education tour of Olivia Twist written and directed by Jim Bywater. Steven wrote the menus for the production and trained the cast who cook during the performances of this innovative tour which explores the issues of healthy eating to school children - his experience was featured on BBC Radio Four. He was a guest speaker/demonstrator at the Skills For Chefs Conference in Sheffield.
Steven has appeared at food festivals worldwide including Karachi, Pakistan and the Gourmet Food Festival in Johanesburg and Capetown, South Africa and he is part of www.celebritychefsuk.com.
Looking good is equally as important and Steven regularly trains in a gym; his other interests include extreme sports and he recently participated in a parachute jump for charity – an experience he can’t wait to repeat!