Want to know what it’s like to work at OLIVER? The way to our hearts is definitely through our stomachs here! OLIVER Chef, gives us a little insight into what her team cooks up in the kitchen. *Warning: food porn features heavily in this post*

What do you do?

I organise breakfast and lunch for the beautiful people of OLIVER, with the help of the wonderful Shelley and Mariana. We prepare freshly made lunches downstairs for up to 60 people per day.  I keep lunches reasonably healthy, with lots of lovely fresh vegetables, and I try to mix it up by using recipes from around the world.

How do you come up with your delicious menus?

I read lots of food blogs and recipe books cover every surface of my home. My favourite at the moment is Nigel Slater, who I kind of fancy because of his passion for food. I use recipes I’ve written for restaurants in the past or learned from chefs who I’ve worked with.  I also like to experiment with new dishes at home before upping the volumes for a lunchtime menu.

What’s your cooking philosophy?

The raw ingredients we buy in are amazing quality, so you know that what you’re eating for lunch is doing you good. We use the same producer that Gail’s bakery uses for bakery items and we only use free-range eggs from happy chickens. I think the better the quality of the ingredients, the easier it is to make food tasty.

It’s also good to have a menu that changes every day as it hopefully keeps things interesting for everyone and makes it easier to vary your diet, just by popping upstairs!

What’s your favourite food?

I like food that is cooked with love – it always tastes the best.

A little bird told us you started in accounting… is that true?

I used to be a tax advisor, and although completing tax returns is exciting and reading tax legislation provides unparalleled thrills, all I did was day-dream about what I was going to eat. I was given an opportunity to join a friend in setting up some restaurants and I jumped at the chance. I’ve been involved with food start-ups now for three years.

 

If you’re keen on joining the team, have a look at our vacancies or send your portfolio and/or CV to our recruitment team. For a little glimpse into life at OLIVER, follow us on Facebook or Instagram.