Despite TV shows portraying chefs as glamorous rockstar-types, pretty much everyone in the industry will tell you that the reality is very, very different. Long hours, intense services, finding the time to be creative, spending years completing repetitive tasks until you have truly honed your craft – this is what it takes before a chef reaches their peak. But there are various ways to reach that end goal, and different types of chef roles. You can aim for the highest standards in Michelin-starred kitchens; become a private chef cooking for the well-heeled or go into development, creating new products. Josh Angus did all three before he became head chef at Hide Ground, one of the most ambitious restaurants London’s ever seen.
Growing up in Sheffield, Josh didn’t get on that well on school – his focus was on sports and girls above everything else. But there was one other subject that kept him interested. ‘I don’t know why but making cakes and things in home economics really interested me, so as soon as I finished my A-levels I went to Sheffield Catering College,’ he says. ‘By the time I was twenty I’d been head chef at two different restaurants, which I was nowhere near ready for, so I decided to start as a commis chef again but in Michelin-starred kitchens.’
This is a hard decision for any chef to make, particularly as it means a sharp pay cut and a return to ‘the bottom of the pile’, as Josh puts it. However, it was certainly the right move, as he secured a place at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons – a restaurant renowned for its ability to train incredible chefs. ‘I worked at Le Manoir for about a year and a half, which was like going back to school. There’s cooking and then there’s real cooking – working methodically and keeping your section clean might not sound exciting but it’s a really important part of being a good chef, and that's what I learnt at Le Manoir.’
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Josh Angus: Hide Ground’s all-star head chef
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