My Food Journey

Born in the north west of England, Co founder of 'Be' Retreats and owner of 'Be Nourished Wholefoods', cooking and travelling between the Swiss Alps, South West France, Australia and most recently Franconia in Germany.

My Journey to get here: 

I've been working professionally as a chef for 20 years now, my career as a chef started in the beautiful coastal region of Cornwall, south west England. An area abundant with superb fresh, local ingredients and artisanal producers. 

First Job

Chef Pete, mad as a box of frogs, the head chef at the local pub next to the beach down in Cornwall, took me under his wing. I’d never worked in a kitchen before, but I’d work in bars and drank at plenty of them, so I saw a way in. Pete was kind and open enough to take me in and gave me my first taste of the crazy world of professional kitchens. For some reason I didn't turn around and run for the nearest exit, I found some kind of flow and peace in that hot busy environment, it was exciting and rewarding, as well as exhausting. 

I was eager to learn and grow as a chef, and began working in busy high end restaurants, learning on my feet, with the scars and burns to prove it. I took quickly to kitchen life, but in the back of my mind I always had a vision of using my new found skills to explore and to create a great life. 

I made a promise to myself to try and work in the most beautiful parts of the world, cooking honest, simple, nutritious food to provide nourishment and joy to my guests and customers.

Mountains - Verbier - Switzerland

An opportunity came knocking and I found myself cooking in at an interview for a luxury chalet company in Verbier, Switzerland.

I was young and pretty clueless but I guess I’d learnt a few tricks working in the restaurants and a had some natural talent and personality that seemed to carry me through. There began the start of my Private Chef career.

Just like that I was cooking in some beautiful Swiss chalets with million dollar views of the mountains, high profile guests and open kitchens. 

I worked with a few great chefs at that point and was learning quickly, menu writing, plating skills, pastry work and also I had a unique insight in to the world of some of the richest and most famous people in the world.

Unknowingly at the time I was developing a network of very unique contacts that I would go on to cook for over the following years in private homes across Europe.

Verbier has been good to me, it holds a special place in my heart, and my first exciting adventure in the private chef world.

Wine Region - Bordeaux - France

During that first season in Verbier I met Steve, a very experienced chef and all round good guy, we got on really well and had a lot of fun working and playing hard, snowboarding everyday. I was learning so much from Steve already, so when he was offered a head chef job in a chateau in Bordeaux starting the following summer I quickly followed him as his sous chef.

There we worked together for 5 years at the Chateau, a boutique wedding venue and holiday destination in the heart of Bordeaux wine country. 

The contrast from the industrial scale restaurant world to the slower paced country life in France opened my eyes to a different way of cooking and dining. 

In our down time we would ride through the never ending vineyards in the surrounding area, soaking in the local way of life, nearly every house has some kind of veg garden!

Here I began for the first time to notice the changing seasons, being exposed to fresh produce, the smell of fresh figs, wild fennel and herbs growing by the side of the road, the elusive asparagus popping up before the naked eye. 

This access to fresh local produce and the interaction with my clients in the open kitchens helped me to understand the value of dining in a relaxed atmosphere with friends.

We were two very spoilt chefs, our own garden, fruit orchards, a wood fired oven, two fully equipped kitchens and cold beer and good wine on tap!

Why would we ever leave this place?! But we eventually did…

Be Retreats

The next project…myself and partner Anna began to create the 'Be' experience. Combining our skills to create something that we were both passionate about..’nourishing the body through food and movement’.

Celebrating the beauty and simplicity in cooking, and eating well with loved ones, nourishing the body and the mind, to develop a closer relationship to the ingredients and producers. Getting back to basics and benefitting from nature's medicine. 

When we combined our passions, skills and ethos, 'Be' retreats was born. The benefits of a balanced approach to life lies at the heart of our retreats. Follow the link to read more about our retreat journey.

Community Bakery - Sunshine Coast - Australia

Another adventure….We left the comfort zone of rural life in France and moved to Australia, a place Anna had called home since she left Germany at 18 and never really looked back.

The accumulation of my experience and passion for simple food and cooking led me to explore baking and in particular the pursuit of really good natural sourdough bread. 

The opportunity arrived for me to start baking full time, selling direct to the local community..so down the end of the dodgy back alley, behind the mechanics, I opened the doors to ‘Be Nourished Community Bakery’. Who would ever come this far for bread?

Well lots of people actually, my business model? How much can one man produce by hand, with no mixer, hardly any space and on a shoe string budget?

Not long after opening I was churning out some really nice bread and pastries, people seemed to love the fact that everything was baked fresh and handmade with love by me!

The bakery was a great time for us, connecting us to the locals, gaining valuable insight into running your own business. However in 2022 we decided to move back to Germany, the bakery was sold and is still thriving today!

Franconia - Germany 

Fast forward three years and myself and Anna are living in Germany living the family life with our beautiful daughter Billie. I have been travelling working as a private chef for old and new clients across France in the Loire Valley and Provence, as well as back in my second home Verbier. 

Now though it is time to get my hands back in the dough and to connect with our new community.

We were fortunate enough to meet Melanie & Sebastian two creatives 'bringing soul to a place' at their space the 'KONZEPTLOFT' in Nürnberg. 

Through their shared passion and vision, they create an atmosphere and ambience that is hard to put into words, so must be experienced. 

Bringing together furniture and interior design, essential oils and hand crafted sourdough, we're excited to explore and collaborate on projects together.

The sourdough journey continues...