Marc Eskdale

Glasgow, grew up in St Ives Cornwall.

 

Since a young age I have worked in hospitality starting as a kitchenhand working my way up. I was very lucky to grow up around the sea and have some amazing produce to work with. I worked in restaurants during the school holidays and weekends from the age of 12; not really knowing what I wanted to do. At the age of 16, I got a job at the Hilton Hotel in Glasgow, so I relocated 800 km to move back to where I was born and my family.

I soon started to realise I wanted to be a Chef at the young age of 17. I entered the competition for Young Scottish Chef of the year, I was very nervous and unsure about this but got pushed by my Head Chef at the time to enter. I finished in the top 10 out of 20 Chefs, being the youngest in the competition with Chefs who had been cooking a lot longer than me - I knew this was the career for me.

My Sous Chef at the time pushed me to go to a better place and get into proper fine dining and to learn from the best. I landed a job with a Chef called Michael Caines (2 Michelin Star) - my trial involved peeling the skin of walnuts.

I was given a 3 kg bag of walnuts and told to bring them to the boil in milk and get a pairing knife to peel, in my head for me this was crazy way to get a caramelised walnut.

After getting the job I completed my apprenticeship and relocated back to England to work at another of Michael’s restaurants; this was the hardest experience for me as I worked with some really crazy and hard Chefs. After this I went on to work with the Tanner brothers very successful Michelin Chefs from the UK.

Working closely with Chris and James they taught me and set me up for life not just how to cook but how to run a business as they were business/Chef owners.

After working with Chris and James I spent 6 months in France, before finally deciding and making the choice to go travelling. I started off in Asia learning different techniques, flavours and styles.

Moved to New Zealand for one year and worked with some amazing Chefs. I then decided to move to Australia in 2013, on a working holiday visa; in that time I worked at Restaurant Two with David Pugh and in the Fontaine kitchen on Hayman island, then relocated to Perth in 2015.

I started my sponsorship at Bistro Guillaume after transferring to Petition Kitchen, where I was Sous Chef for just under 2 years. I have been working as a Head Chef for the last 3 years.

I was asked to come and open a new venue called Storehouse on the top level of the Vibe Hotel, where I really exceled using my training with my own twist and put that into dishes. I managed to obtain a Chef Hat Award with the Australian Good Food Guide during my time here. 

My style of food is using as much fresh local produce as possible showcasing the product with some modern twists. Since leaving the UK, I have fallen in love with Asian flavours, they are featured in a lot of my dishes.

I am very focused on if you have a clean kitchen, you have clean food.

My biggest influence to this day would be Michael Caines - losing an arm at the age of 25 with one Michelin star and getting back into the kitchen within 6 weeks, then to go on and get 2 Michelin stars, what a man.

Vinegar is an ingredient I can’t live without, as I pickle a lot of things and for me has a place in most dishes.

My signature dish is Fremantle octopus, purple conga potatoes and pickled blackberries.