In this weeks addition we have been joined by the extremely driven and unsurprisingly busy Damian Wawrzyniak. This Chef has many pies to keep him busy. Damian runs The Fine Art Of Dining . He had a hand in looking after the Olympics 2012 after refining his skills all over the world. Educated and experienced from working at the ”worlds best ” – NOMA restaurant. You can now find him popping up at restaurants everywhere, running around consulting on all things food related and of course cooking…at live demonstrations in fact! Head over to the website to book your seats and guarantee yourself a personalized pop up with a difference. Follow Damian on Twitter.
We love the site and the services on offer, please tell us more about how things are cooking at The Art of Fine Dining…
We are Cooking Great, thanks! Busy with Restaurant Consultancy and Pop Ups. After my work experience at Noma and a few (sixteen!) years in very busy kitchens across the whole of Europe, FAOD have got reputation of quality, great prices and fantastic service. We are still getting more and better but being a chef it is all about pushing to the limits! Potato Skins are our latest ‘push’.
Who inspired you to become a chef and what’s your favourite thing about the job?
My dad is a chef. Since I could walk I was spending all my time with him in the kitchen. I was always jealous as he could chop faster than me and now I’m nearly as fast as he is. My inspiration is my wife and without her I would not be able to do what I am doing. My wife is always supporting me and now she is also running part of our business (restaurant interior design). The favourite thing about the job are always satisfied guests!
Whats your favourite local restaurant and favourite meal?
I love @m1lkcoffee, very small Coffee / Restaurant in Balham! I adore their Smashed Avo dish and they do have BEST COFFEE IN THE WORLD!
Who inspires you now and who would you really like to work with?
Rene Redzepi is the person who is inspiring me. His love for food is huge! He is also a very nice guy. I would like to work with Simon Rogan.
Best piece of advice to someone wanting to be a chef?
Don’t do this for money…
Where would you like to go locally to eat in the future that you haven’t tried yet?
Scotland, maybe not locally but I would like to go there to get ingredients, cook it and then eat it.
What food, if any, would you like to try but haven’t got around to yet?
Real Japanese
Where was your last great dining experience and why?
Joel Robuchon in London. Chef made dessert for me which is not available in London Branch but only in New York – that was a treat for me. Class!
What do you have planned coming up that we need to know about?
We have set dates for my Pop Up Restaurants including :
20.04 Cambridge – Eight Courses
11.05 Balham / London – Eight Courses
06.06 Cambridge / Eight Courses
My food will be also available whole week between 28.07 – 05.08 at Aura in Mayfair / London. All information are available on our website – www.fineartofdining.co.uk . We also have on offer Culinary Courses including RAW Cooking and Chef at Home services. We are always happy to create something new for our clients.
Thanks Damian!
Posted By Mise En Place Hospitality Recruitment