LUKE THOMAS Reaching for the stars


Winning FutureChef 2009 when he was just 15 years old put Luke Thomas on the culinary map. Now he’s using his City & Guilds Level 2 Certifi cate in Professional Catering to gain work experience from acclaimed restaurants around the world.


I’d already been working in a kitchen for two years before taking my City & Guilds but I wanted to do it because I felt that it would give me a good grounding and help me to develop a better understanding of the industry. I also wanted to learn more about classic dishes – what chefs are cooking now are reinventions of those classics.


When I started working in a kitchen I learned as I went along – people


CITY & GUILDS ANNUAL REVIEW 2009-2010


didn’t always explain the reasons why things were done a certain way. Learning with City & Guilds really fi lled in all those gaps. It helped me to sharpen my technical skills, understand classic cooking and develop my knowledge of health-and-safety protocols, which are equally important.


I want to be the youngest chef to win a Michelin star, so I’ve got a hit list of chefs I’m contacting to ask if I can do work experience in their restaurants. I’ve been lucky enough to work with some amazing chefs like Heston Blumenthal, Gary Rhodes, Simon Hulstone (above) and Michel Roux Jr. This, along with the skills I’ve gained through the City & Guilds course, will hopefully help me to develop my own style of cooking and eventually get me that star.


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