FOOD + DRINK
MEET THE CHEF :
WILL FREEMAN
Head Chef , The Pumproom @ Copper Rivet Distillery , Chatham
What led to you becoming a chef ?
I come from a family of foodies . My nan was a cook and my parents are very good home cooks , so growing up food was always at the centre of family life . I was always ‘ good ’ at cooking ( so my mum would say ) and I always enjoyed it , from making cakes at a very young age with my mum , to doing the BBQ with my dad .
I think - the same as a lot of chefs - after school I had a choice go to university or go to college ; I didn ’ t very much enjoy school and was working as a kitchen porter in a pub at the time , helping where I could in the kitchen , so was already enjoying the rush of the kitchen … so the choice was obvious .
Where did you train ?
I initially trained at MidKent College . Progressing in my career , I started work at The Swan under two of its head chefs , Scott Goss and Lee Edney , which was my first introduction into what I call a ‘ real kitchen ’.
Where have you worked before ?
Following The Swan , I went to The Beacon in Tunbridge Wells where I learned about simple produce ; it was also my first experience of a fieldto-fork kitchen , with several acres of woodland to forage and a fully edible garden . My first head chef job was at the Dirty Habit in Hollingbourne , which was my first opportunity to cook the food that I enjoyed and also my opportunity to run a kitchen the way I wanted to .
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