Lee Osborne - Chef at Holmewood Hall

Well my day here at Holmewood Hall starts very early – up at 5.30am, then it is downstairs for a quick coffee before I head out of the door at 6.15am.  I don’t have far to drive, only 8 miles and it is a lovely drive as traffic on the A1 is almost nothing. Arrive here at Holmewood Hall for 6.30, and my first jobs are to open up the building and get the morning coffee’s started for the business we have on that day.

Coffee time again for myself, before getting my chef whites on. I need 3 or 4 coffees to get me going in the morning.  I normally know the business/customers for the day, so I start by getting my cold prep and hot prep done for the day and get the menu to Emma (if I remember to do one). Emma kindly reminds me if I forget!

I love making homemade desserts and try to prepare a good variety which takes up to an hour of my time each morning, as I write this I have just pulled some homemade citrus meringues out of the oven and they are smelling delicious.

I am always being asked by staff and customers ‘what dessert are you making today Lee’ as the Hall is filled with lovely sweet aromas. I love to hear comments like these from our customers, it’s great to know that they enjoy my food!  Normal time for lunch service is 12.00-12.30 but Nicola and I like to be ready for 11.45 so that when our customers arrive they are straight in.  In service I tend to keep an eye on my food and do the washing up as part of the catering team here at the Hall, I believe the chef should do his fair share of washing up and not leave it to other staff.

When the rush is over in the Gold Room which is normally around 1.30, the restaurant then needs clearing. It’s then time for my first break of the day, a quick sandwich and a read of local paper to catch up with my other love, Peterborough United  ‘The Posh’.

Around 2.15pm I clean around the kitchens, sweep and mop the floors, lock all of my fridges and make sure all of the relevant kitchen paperwork is completed for the day.

At 2.45pm I head to the office, catch up on emails and have a chat with Emma and Karen (including yet another coffee) before heading home at 3.00pm.  Then I start my 2nd job of looking after my 2 year old son.

I really look forward to sitting at home and thinking about what I can put on my menus the following day when my son is in bed.  Being a Chef here at Holmewood Hall is probably the only job I have really looked forward to getting up for in the mornings, I just love the place and the people I work with, it is a pleasure to be part of such a good team.