John Saville Wright

Sheffield, Yorkshire, UK

History:

My first interest in food was fanned in the family home of course. The Sunday roast being cooked in a coal fired Yorkshire range and the evocative aromas coming from there. Those are the things that remain with you forever, although I came to become a chef many years later than my peers, it is those memories of food I want to give my customers. So they remember it forever!

Have you always wanted to be a Chef? 

My real passion for cooking came later in my life, 15 years ago I bought my first hotel in WA. After a run of really terrible chefs I decided that if I wanted good food I needed to cook it. For me the French are the masters of culinary skills and to be any good you need to master those skills. I hired myself a young French Chef trained by Alain Ducasse and I apprenticed myself to him for 5 years. During that time I developed my palate and passion.

How would you define your style?

I obviously love the French Classics, and then developing them with our wonderful local produce and contemporary slant, with a hint of molecular
gastronomy.

Obsessive Compulsive About?

Everything from plating, cleanliness, and a desire to be the best.

Your greatest culinary inspirations/influences:

Michel Roux I think is a chefs chef, simple dishes perfectly executed with passion. Heston’s food is also outstanding in the flavour department.

Most “eyebrow raising” menu item?

Our Snail porridge dish was talked about for quite a while.