insideKENT Magazine Issue 121 - May 2022 | Page 94

Group Executive Head Chef , Balfour Hospitality , Kent
FOOD + DRINK
MEET THE CHEF :

THOMAS WILLIAMS

Group Executive Head Chef , Balfour Hospitality , Kent

What led you to becoming a chef ?
A sheer love and passion for creative flair , a love of adrenaline and a search for perfection . Cooking with my mum and nan at a very early age taught me about flavour and that treating humble ingredients with the utmost respect transforms them into something of greatness . It ’ s my true dream job ; I wake up every day privileged to be doing a job that I love .
Where did you train ?
I was trained under the expert guidance of a chef named David Hole , a chef who worked and trained at the prestigious Moore Park Gold Club . Working with him lit the passion and fire I still possess today and without him taking me under his wing , I would most certainly not be where I am today and I am eternally thankful to him for this . I have been very lucky to have worked for some extremely amazing chefs in my early years in kitchens , which has allowed my imagination , thirst and love for the job to blossom into what I am today . Every day is a school day , and you never ever stop learning .
Where have you worked before ?
I have been very privileged to have worked in some incredible settings and venues from the likes of The Goudhurst Inn ( Kent ) all the way up to the Beeches at Hampton ( Hampton in Arden , Birmingham ); to name them all would take a while , but I have always been in and around high end gastro / rosette / fine-dining restaurants since the early stages of my career .
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