Just desserts for me
Meet Bake Off pastry star Sam
ARMED with a massive sweet tooth and a natural gift for crafting desserts, Sam Leatherby, 26, from Sutton, South London, started out as a teenage apprentice chef. This summer he won Channel 4’s Bake Off: The Professionals and is Junior Sous Chef at London’s illustrious Hilton Hotel on Park Lane. Was this always your dream job?
Not quite. I wanted to be a footballer but by the time I was 11 I realised I was too small. I’m sport obsessed and originally applied to university to do a sports science degree.
So, where did the whole cooking thing come from?
When I was young I helped dad make the odd curry and mum with the Sunday roast, but it wasn’t until I started food tech at secondary school that I realised I loved cooking. From that very first lesson I was hooked. I did my GCSE and A-level food tech exams a year early and spent my Year 10 work experience at The Ivy in London as my dad knew someone who worked there. I was amazed at the level of excitement and energy in a major kitchen.
How did it become a career?
Despite applying to university for sports science I was also constantly on the lookout for food related apprenticeships. One of the first I spotted was with Hilton. I applied and was called in for an assessment day where, alongside Maths and English tests, I got given a mystery basket of ingredients.
I’m very competitive and was in my element. I was given a lot of praise that day which fuelled me to go for it. When they offered me an apprenticeship it was a no-brainer. I started right after my A-levels.
What’s with the pastry obsession?
For the first six months, alongside one day a week at college, I was at Hilton Heathrow as hot kitchen chef doing breakfasts. There was a competition to see which apprentices would spend the second six months at Hilton Park Lane. I won and that was that. I started in pastry and within days it just became my life. I was smitten.
I’d never shown any signs of being artistic – I really can’t draw a thing – but my imagination came alive.
What’s your working life like now?
I’m involved with the restaurant, afternoon tea and banqueting. There are around 14 pastry chefs in the kitchen at its busiest.
I love creating showpieces – chocolate and fruit combos are a particular favourite. When I was put forward by our executive chef to enter Bake Off: the Professionals I was seriously up for it. I’ve never felt so good as when myself and partner Emmanuel Bonneau, executive pastry chef, won.
Do you cook at home?
My fiancé Nicole and I tend to share it. Whoever is home from work first does it. But I really miss it when I haven’t cooked for a while. I’m on holiday at the moment but found myself making a batch of Oreo brownies and a cake just because I could. Family and friends often ask me for cakes.
Are the hours horrendous?
It’s about eight hours a day, but when you have 1,000 people for lunch and 1,000 for dinner, that is busy. But I usually manage to get Sundays off which means I can play football.
CONTACTS
Hospitality Guild hospitalityguild.co.uk Springboard careerscope.uk.net Hilton Worldwide hiltonworldwide.com/careers
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Even on holiday I’ve made a batch of Oreos...