Joe Barlett - The Foraging Chef (E21)

Send us Fan MailJoe Bartlett knew that he wanted to become a chef at a young age.Fast forward a few years, his dream became a reality, however the road was not going to be  easy.He started working in a local hotel on  the weekends getting his backside kicked, in the weekdays he was studying at catering college. This was in his local town, located in the South West of England.2 years later after graduating, he then went to work at some other restaurants, however 5 years after his original stint at the place where he trained, he asked back as a sous, to then getting promoted to his first ever Head Chef position at the age of only 21 !https://www.holne-chase.co.ukA huge responsibility for someone so young, during his 2 years as the Head of the kitchen , he accomplished 2 AA Rosettes, as well as various accolades, but something was pushing him in the search of gaining knowledge, opportunity knocked on his door once again.It was a simple invitation that led Joe to work at the award winning Ashburton Cookery School.This is where he understood how to manage the general public, at the same time he gained a national teaching accreditation, and of-course pushed his knowledge base to a whole other level. Joe worked at the school for 8 years, quite a commitment.https://www.ashburtoncookeryschool.co.ukBut still, he wanted to push himself to work at the very top of gastronomy, there was only one place that could fit the bill for such a job, so he got a job at the legendary double Michelin starred Le Manoir Aux Quat' Saisons!https://www.belmond.com/hotels/europe/uk/oxfordshire/belmond-le-manoir-aux-quat-saisons/This solidified the hunger to work for the best of the best!Joe now works for a beautiful country house hotel in Wales, to this day, he is teaching his chefs all about foraging incredible produce from the land, you can often tune into Joe's Insta stories, tasting weird and wonderful herbs or berries.https://www.lakecountryhouse.co.ukThe journey that Joe has gone through has not been easy, considering he went from a Head Chef's position, to then having to almost start again at a lower position, however cooking at the Mecca of British gastronomy was well worth the risk.So if you need some extensive knowledge on how to get into foraging, Joe is the chef to call!Give him a follow on his page - https://www.instagram.com/chefjoebartlettSupport the showFollow The Chef JKP Podcast on Instagram HERE