People Paul Elliott
Paul Elliott, executive chef of the Rag private members’ club (also known as the Army and Navy Club) in London, tells Neil Gerrard the hard lessons he has learned as a chef, and why training is so important
People often think that I am ex-military. I actually wanted to go into the Navy when I was young, so I did all my training courses and then the Falklands War happened. I asked myself, did I really want to be in the bottom of a boat cooking when it’s struck by something. Then I thought I would join the RAF, but I was rejected because I had asthma as a
child. I was fit and I used to do a lot of rugby, but because you have been classified as asth- matic, they won’t touch you at all. It was upsetting, but then I had the chance to work as a chef. I wanted to go into the ser- vices as a youngster, but now I have ended up in a services club.
We have a team of 14 chefs at the Rag Club, including my senior sous chef, Tibor Sarvari, who is Hungarian. We have another three Hungarians with us. I swear by the Hungarians – they are really hard-working peo- ple, very skilled and open to being trained. Although we have predominantly Hungar- ian and English chefs, we also have a couple of French lads, an Italian, and a Welsh chap. As with London itself, it is quite a mixed and diverse kitchen.
It doesn’t bother me that as a club chef I can’t really get the same acco- lades and awards as restaurant chefs because I have had a varied career. I have managed a three- rosette restaurant and earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand in my own right. I have done devel- opment work and some of the products I developed are still on shelves today. Here, I get my per- sonal satisfaction from the people we serve.
64 | The Caterer | 31 July 2015 CV
“I got the bollocking of a lifetime and had to clean the fryer out, right in the middle of service”
In my first session at the Ritz I was on the garnish section and I stuck a plastic ladle into the fryer. I got the bollocking of a lifetime and had to clean the fryer out, right in the middle of service. You learn quickly. I once worked at a place in Hertfordshire where on my first day I spent four hours cook- ing bruno- ise carrots. I thought
I was the bee’s knees because I was out of college and had done some time at the Ritz. The chef came to me and he said, “What the bleep have you done?! What a load of bleep bleep bleep.” He punched me to the floor then took four hours’ worth of brunoise car- rots and threw them in the bin. We don’t do that sort of beas-
ting in our kitchens. We try to teach chefs the lessons I have learned the hard way. You need to explain to your younger chefs the reason for something before you can expect them to do it.
“Cook to your client base. If you ever want to do your own food, buy your own restaurant.” That’s what one of my old bosses used to tell me and it’s very true. A lot of young chefs will use places that they work in as their own plat- form. But as you get older you will understand that you have to cook to your client base.
2013 Executive chef, the Rag (Army and Navy Club), London 2009 Personal chef to Damian Aspinall and family, Howletts Mansion, Kent 2007 Head development chef, food development, Marks & Spencer, Waitrose and others 2005 Head chef, Jackson Stops Inn, Rutland (gained and retained Michelin Bib Gourmand) 2003 Sous chef, Fawsley Hall hotel, Daventry 2001 Head chef, the Sun Inn hotel and restaurant, Northamptonshire (gained two AA rosettes) 1992 Head chef, Brasted’s restaurant, Norwich 1990 Sous chef, the Barton Angler Lodge hotel, Norfolk 1988 Demi chef de partie, the Ritz hotel, London 1986 Commis chef, Le Talbooth restaurant and Dedham Vale hotel
Here at the Rag, they wanted to bring modern food into the club, which is sustainable with a good profit margin, but also to bring the glamour and the luxury of the Ritz.
I would recommend this as a line of work for any chef so long as you get a good employer. Not all clubs are the same. The Army and Navy Club really sets itself out against all of them. The other clubs look at us for what we are doing, how the business runs and how the employer treats the employees. I have been here two years and I am still as passionate now about my food as I was when I won a Michelin Bib Gourmand. Hav- ing such a strong team and Tibor with me, we push all the time. We never stand still.
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