Chef William Baking Powder 800G

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Tasting food straight from the garden and hedgerows, along with stories from my grandmother who worked at Wentworth Woodhouse in South Yorkshire.

With meat so closely associated with fire, I’m trying to inspire a new mindset behind open fire cooking – showcasing vegetables and their magnificent reaction to the burning embers.’ What differences do you find working with local produce as opposed to non-local produce in terms of what you can create and flavour? The antidote might be a trip to Ardkinglas Estate, where Welsh chef William Hamer - whose experience includes a stage at Hisa Franko, a two Michelin-starredrestaurant in Slovenia - is doing his soul food thing with Wild Kabn Kitchen. Trained at Bentley Hotel, Lanarkshire Catering School; Commis Chef and then Chef De Partie at Howlin Wolf, Glasgow; Junior Sous Chef in Redhurst Hotel; Head Chef at Boclair House Hotel. What has been the highlight of your career to date? Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, including where you are today, professionally, and what got you here?

Enhancing the environment

I returned to London and worked at chez Nico at 90 Park Lane where I worked my way up to junior sous chef. After that, I went and worked with Tom Aikens at Pied a Terre as a sous chef. A year later, an opportunity came up for head chef at Michael’s Nook hotel in the Lake District, it had a good reputation and the owner Mr Gifford was willing to take a chance on me even though I was only 26. It paid off, I started in August and in January we received the hotel’s first ever Michelin star making it the highest-rated hotel in the lakes with one star and four AA rosettes. As for standing the heat in the MasterChef kitchen, he added: ‘I always watched the series and thought ‘the pressure can’t be that bad’. Oh, how silly I was! It was a test for me. I never feel pressure even in the hardest heat of service, I’m just always so calm. But wow, MasterChef was such an experience. I can’t put into words what the pressure in there does to you. It’s like nothing I have ever experienced before – but very good for any chef to go and give a bash. I wouldn’t change a second of it.’ We met William, who should change his name to Willm to suit the vowel-dropping theme, on a Monday night at 7.30pm. Guests of his latest supper club are taken along the shores of Loch Fyne to enjoy canapés before journeying into the 18th century gardens of Ardkinglas Estate to marvel at the array of wild flowers and hidden pathways. We eventually approach the rustic greenhouse where established grape vines hang from the ceiling as you dine by candlelight.

The concept revolves around a culinary journey around the Ardkinglas Estate Gardens, where we explore wild ingredients and converse about the Scottish wilderness. William goes off and does his thing in the makeshift kitchen, poking at the fire, and you can get romantic (or not) with your plus one and only see the chef whenever he delivers the five successive plates. The expert team are eager to discover outstanding new cooking talent and will be setting exacting standards from the moment the kitchen doors open, as only the most skilled, passionate and creative of chefs can come close to the prestigious MasterChef: The Professionals title.Two AA Rosette and Michelin Red Plate rated chef John McNulty along with business partner, Sommelier David Lapsley are to opened a sibling venue to Etive restaurant, The Tigh an Truish.

He led us along a winding route across springy grass and through gaps in an old stone wall, to our private dining destination. We only wished we’d brought some breadcrumbs. If you’re staying over, you can holiday in one of the two Kabn Company cabins, on the shore of Loch Fyne, and a trip to the Wild Kabn Kitchen is part of the experience. He said: ‘I got into cooking because my mother was and still is, a very good cook. From a young age I used to swing off my mother’s leg and ask a thousand questions about what she was making and why she made it a certain way. From there it just grew and grew and I began cooking all the time. A good variety of fantastic seasonal ingredients that taste great, changing some of the dishes often enough to keep the regulars engaged. There is also the Fig Room, where guests are invited to dine amongst the large leaves and sweet and savoury aromas of the figs themselves.I’ve left those places feeling very full, but also a bit empty. (Don’t feel sorry for me, it’s okay, I know I have the best job in town). Ahead of MasterChef: The Professionals 2022,which airson BBC Oneevery Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 2 november,we find out more about the chefs taking part. I also believe that guests enjoy the connection they can make with the chef, which almost never happens in a restaurant. How would you describe the food you create at Seven Park Place to someone who’s never experienced your kind of food?