The Journey.....

I've had an interest in cooking since I was a child - I've got my mum to thank for that. An accomplished cook herself, some of my earliest memories involve food and helping out in the kitchen. It was no surprise to my friends and family when I became a chef at the age of 18, beginning my gastronomic journey at the less than impressive Pizzaland at the bottom of Briggate in Leeds - on the princely wage of £2.92 per hour!

I quickly progressed to the newly opened 4 star Marriott Hotel and then spent a couple of years working down by the river Aire at the iconic Leodis and its sister restaurant Paris in Horsforth under esteemed head chef Steve Kendall. It was while at these award winning and Michelin recognised fine dining restaurants my passion for cooking really took hold. I became obsessed with flavours, textures, cooking techniques and quickly built a library of recipes & books by chefs such as Marco Pierre White, Gary Rhodes, Pierre Koffman and Rick Stein

By now it was the mid 90's and I had itchy feet, the opportunity to work in Holland at the NATO affiliated and NASA partner The European Space Agency was a dream ticket, I gained skills in French pastry and learned about European culinary styles in a very professional and highly regarded kitchen.  This led into the summer of 1996 and a year in Austria at the very exclusive and high end Restaurant am Schubertplatz in Feldkirch near the Liechtenstein / Swiss border - under the tutelage of one of the country's best up and coming chefs at the time. Then returning to Holland for 18 months to work in 2 high end independent restaurants in the Leiden area, 40km south of Amsterdam cooking Spanish tapas and traditional modern European dishes.

A return to the the UK saw me take on a 2nd chef position at the Slug & Lettuce and then a really enjoyable period as assistant head chef at Tampopo in Leeds, serving Thai, Japanese and Malaysian dishes and an interest in dashi and umami began. From there it was to Headingley to open The Arc as kitchen manager, a position that saw me quickly promoted to Food Development Manager for the rapidly expanding company as we opened The Box, Trio Bar and Grill, Zed and The Hub in Chapel Allerton. Led by the enigmatic and hugely talented Martin Wolstencroft, I was given the skills needed to run my own business so off I went in 2005 to open my own place; Hearty Sandwich opened in 2005 to much fanfare - serving healthy eating sandwiches, salads and juices as well Fairtrade coffee and a bustling outside catering trade too! It was 2013  when I took over a derelict café on Burley Road with the unenviable task of completely refurbishing it and building a new business from scratch, with much help from my ace sister Jessica we achieved it and Joey's Diner was born. This is how my sauce brand came to be called Joey's. Fun fact; I'm actually not that keen on being called Joey but I kind of made a rod for my own back lol. I sold that business in 2022 to and now split my time working as a freelance chef (which gives me the freedom to explore my passion for cooking) and working on the sauces and building the business.

It's fair to say it's been a journey getting to this point, there's still a long way to go but I'm excited for the future and truly grateful for everyone who has supported me so far, notably my amazing partner Daisy.....

Thanks for reading, hope to see you at a market soon! 

Joe