Rudding Park Rising Star Callum Bowmer

“I learnt more in a week in the kitchen at Rudding Park than a whole year at college – there really is nothing like being hands on!  One of first events I worked was a marquee event which was a massive team effort and fantastic experience.  After six months I was fast-tracked to Clocktower where Eddie Gray, Clocktower Head Chef took me under his wing.

I loved the dynamic of the restaurant kitchen.  Originally on garnish sections I then moved to larder.  Eddie was brilliant – a fantastic mentor and gave me the opportunity to create my own dishes, offering his guidance and support along the way.

To progress in your career it’s really important to gain as much experience as possible to stay fresh, motivated and passionate, so to gain additional experience I did a six month stint at Baslow Hall, Derbyshire before returning to Rudding Park in 2012, developing dishes for starter and mains and helping Eddie develop the team.

Rudding Park has a really strong culture when it comes to encouraging members of the team to embrace opportunities to grow and develop your skills. Over the last few years I have been out of my ‘kitchen comfort zone’ on numerous occasions doing cookery demos on the Yorkshire food demo circuit including The Great Yorkshire Show and Spring and Autumn Flower Shows.  They can be great fun and it’s good to get out there and interact with the audience, but a particular highlight has to be featuring on BBC’s MasterChef The Professionals in 2017.