Taking A Break

One Saturday morning when I was just 15 years old, I got dressed, grabbed a quick breakfast and set out to catch a bus from Hackney up Blackhorse Road to Waltham Forest College.

I was understandably apprehensive that morning. I was heading somewhere new, meeting a bunch of people for the first time and about to realise a dream I'd had since I first helped mum to make cupcakes as an eight-year-old. Months later, in the spring of 2004, I returned to Waltham Forest for the final time, to proudly collect my Junior Chef's Academy certificate. From that moment I knew that I was never going to look back. I would become a professional chef.

Of course I couldn't realise that ambition overnight. For the next few months I had to put all thoughts of cooking aside and concentrate on my GCSEs. That was a condition laid down by my parents for allowing me to go to catering college and, as it turned out, it was also a demand of the college.

Westminster Kingsway took no prisoners when it came to the battle for achievement. Those three years were mercilessly hard at times, but that merely served as a foretaste of the pain that was to come later as a hospitality professional. It's not an easy industry in which to excel. At least we were well prepared, with great work experience postings and a "realistic working environment" restaurant open to the public. In summer 2007, I collected my Professional Chef Diploma.

During my second year summer break I had discovered the fun of writing something about what I was doing and this blog was born. In those days I had buckets of spare time - enough to research and write, to document and record, to video and share my thoughts and experiences with the wider world. For a while I even managed to knock out a few pieces for a national newspaper.

But my focus was always on my career and during my third year I spent a lot of my spare time researching the world of fine dining. I concluded that Spain was the place to be and found a restaurant that looked just perfect. Back then I was as cynical about the awards system as I am today, but that feeling of being part of kitchen team winning its first Michelin star was something I'll never forget as long as I live. Being part of that crew at Comerç 24 taught me so much about teamwork and I'm so proud to count many in that kitchen today as life-long friends.

If Comerç gave me a solid foundation, Martín Beresategui's Lasarte gave me a taste of cooking at the next level of refinement. And that prepared me for Ferrero, where I learnt such a massive amount about self-discipline, professional organisation and perfection of execution. I may have had a few difficult moments during my time there, but I'll always credit Paco Morales as the man who showed me how a restaurant should be run.

Viajante was never part of my career plans but was always destined by the Gods to happen, like an adventure of Jason and the Argonauts. Bacchus was my last fine dining experience before I set off for Spain and I already knew by then that Nuno Mendes, working just a few hundred yards from my London home, was one of Britain's most creative chefs. And when I returned to London, Nuno was preparing to open Viajante down the road in Bethnal Green.

Very few restaurateurs get an opportunity to work through the agonies and ecstasies of the birth of a serious fine dining restaurant before they open their own establishment. I'm sure that in future years I'll count this as one of the most valuable learning experiences of my career. And it reinforced what I always knew - that there are very few chefs in this country with the creative brilliance of Nuno Mendes.

It's been six and a half years since I made that first bus trip to Waltham Forest. Six and a half years during which I've emerged both as a chef and as a person... and it's time to take a break. My passion to become a chef and restaurateur hasn't diminished one iota, but lately I've come to understand that there are some things in my life of even greater importance than my career. Working 17-hour double shifts and then collapsing in bed at half one in the morning is a guaranteed way to lose those precious gifts and that's not a mistake that I intend to make. Last week I handed in my notice and Sunday was my last shift at Viajante. I wish Nuno and the crew the best of luck with a venture that, if all goes well, will surely become one of London's most respected places to dine.

For the time being, this will be my last blog post. It was becoming increasingly difficult in any event, as regular readers will have noticed. Lack of time is one factor, but it's also the case that at this stage of a career it's almost impossible to write about your activities. You can't criticise your employers because that undermines your own position and you can't praise them without being thought biased. So with that in mind, I'm taking a break - from fine dining and from blogging - to do something different for a while. I'll keep the blog open, because I know from my email that many young people starting out in the business come here and read about my experiences. I can be contacted via the email link if you click on contact above. Friends can search me out on Facebook as Aidan 'Trig' Brooks and keep in contact that way. All that remains for me to say is - in the immortal words of Arnold Schwarzenegger - "I'll be back."

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