Andy Gregory

One of my earliest memories is helping my Gran and Mum with baking in the kitchen. This gave me the bug to really enjoy being in the kitchen no matter whether I was cooking or washing up. In the earlier years of secondary school, I didn’t really have any subjects that interested or excited me (apart from P.E!) When choosing options, I was encouraged to go to Home Economics taught by Miss Coombs. Cooking recipes and learning about different ingredients interested me and Miss Coombs had an inspiring style of teaching which developed my passion for the subject. 

 

Shortly before leaving school, I was offered a Saturday job at the Grand Hotel. I looked forward to Saturdays and loved working in the busy kitchen with all the chefs. After my exams, I was offered a full-time job with a day at Lincoln college every week to gain my City and Guilds qualifications in Cooking for the Catering Industry. I qualified and worked my way around the kitchen learning all the sections and it wasn’t long before I was left in charge of quiet evenings with a small team. With a growing confidence, I made the decision to gain some new experience and moved to the Channel Islands. I gained a lot of experience in preparing seafood and still use recipes I learnt there to this day!

 

The next few years of my career were spent honing my skills and striving to take on more demanding roles. I moved to Daventry in order to experience working in a Rosette restaurant before moving to Huddersfield to run my own pub, where I successfully increased the food sales tenfold. I gained my personal license to sell alcohol and was proud to have my name above the door. Keen for a new challenge, I decided to come back to Lincoln to work for the Whitbread group gaining a deeper understanding of the procedural requirements of running food production on a larger scale. Shortly after, I noticed that the Grand Hotel needed a Sous-Chef and applied. Being offered the role took me full circle back to where my career started! This made my next promotion to Head Chef particularly special and still stands out as one of my proudest moments of my career. 

 

When the Grand Hotel was set to close, I moved to The Bentley Hotel under the same owner and became Head Chef again. I enjoyed over 12 years in the role and was lucky enough to lead a team of some of the best chefs I have ever worked with. Those were memorable days and I still remain friends with the owner and many of my colleagues. 

 

After almost 25 years in hospitality, I took my food knowledge into new territory by accepting a role in sales as the Lincoln Account Manager for Pilgrim Foodservice. Whilst there were plenty of lessons to learn under the guidance of some great mentors, I enjoyed chatting with customers and drinking coffee – something I had perfected in my time as Head Chef!

 

As a senior in the latter part of my cheffing career, I enjoyed encouraging and developing staff who were new to the industry. A role in teaching seemed like the ideal move and shortly after an opportunity to do just that came my way at a small training centre in Lincoln. I gained my Level 3 Award in Education and Training and Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement (something I had always wanted to achieve throughout my career) and loved using over 30 years of experience to give people the encouragement and career guidance they needed when they had lost their way.

 

Both inside and outside of work I have always been keen to improve and progress. Starting a business with Kirsty is brand new (and scary!) territory for me but a challenge I am so excited for. I love helping others to make small changes to their lives because it is something I try to practice myself in order to keep moving forward and feeling a sense of achievement each day. Perhaps this is why I really love weight training and sport and have recently found the most unexpected passion for crafting!