Season 2 - Episode 6 - Luke Garnsworthy - From Chef to CEO
Send us a textYou could say that being a chef runs in the family, however Luke Garnsworthy has changed the game and is now the CEO of his very own restaurant group.How did this happen? It all started by him growing up in his dads restaurant, in the city of Exeter located in the South West of England, the name of the eatery was known as Crockers, which subsequently is the name he uses for his new projects.Holding a few dead end jobs, eventually the calling of the kitchens beckoned him bac...
You could say that being a chef runs in the family, however Luke Garnsworthy has changed the game and is now the CEO of his very own restaurant group.
How did this happen?
It all started by him growing up in his dads restaurant, in the city of Exeter located in the South West of England, the name of the eatery was known as Crockers, which subsequently is the name he uses for his new projects.
Holding a few dead end jobs, eventually the calling of the kitchens beckoned him back, this led to Luke's first serious job in the award winning Ashburton cookery school. This was the place that allowed him to learn hands on about produce, techniques, and also exposed him to dealing with the general public, a skill that would prove valuable in years to come.
https://www.ashburtoncookeryschool.co.uk/
After some time, Luke wanted to make the move to London, this would prove to be a pivotal step in forming his work ethic, as he joined one of the biggest names in the culinary world - Marcus Wareing at the Gilbert Scott.
He describes this experience as being "brutal", due to the hours and the pressure from Marcus himself.
https://www.thegilbertscott.com
This was swiftly followed, by a job at the double Michelin starred Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in the Mandarin Oriental, Knightsbridge, London.
The group executive chef at the time, was none other than Ashley Palmer Watts, one of the most inspirational people Luke has ever had the pleasure of meeting, and the education in that particular kitchen, was second to none.
https://www.dinnerbyheston.com
The decision was then made by Luke, to stop cooking all together, as the he wanted to have a life.
He re-trained as a personal trainer, didn't really make money, however he decided to put food and nutrition together, doing tailored meals, but the real spark happened when himself and his wife were catering for private dinner parties every weekend, from these small and intimate functions, Luke knew that there was some serious cash to be made, and boom - Crockers was re-born.
A double door garage space, was then converted to a chef's table of 10 seats.
The concept was about watching the chef, having inter-cation with great food and wine.
After constantly being sold out, the concept had to be re-designed, so an actual restaurant and bar space became available.
A couple of years down the line, another branch of Crockers has just opened up. Remarkable to think, all of this came from a concept that was home grown in a garage!
The company is now called Unique dining - https://uniquedining.co.uk
With a full board of directors involved, the company has truly taken off.
The future is bright for the unique dining group, as the success is all in the hands of the people who make it happen.
The sacrifices have been worth the graft.
Luke and his wife Fiona have also welcomed a baby boy in the world, am sure he will also be following in the family footsteps.
The remarkable story from Chef to CEO!
To see what Luke is up to, you can contact him via Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/luke_garnsworthy
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