Andy Johnston joined us way back in 1985 and is fast approaching his fourth decade at TLH Leisure Resort!
Andy originally started as the Chef De Partie and worked his way up the ladder to become Head Chef at the TLH Derwent Hotel where he now oversees the day to day breakfast and dinner service.
The inspiration behind Andy’s journey and passion for food stemmed from his Father who held the position of Petty Officer in the Royal Navy, who supervised a team of almost one hundred chefs onboard an Aircraft carrier. As a child Andy was surrounded by food from all over the world as his Father created new and exciting dishes at home which he had discovered on his travels in the Royal Navy.
Andy’s favourite aspect of the job is meeting so many different people from Torbay locals to those from different continents who bring their knowledge and culinary skills to the Kitchen he leads.
We asked Andy which 3 tools he could not do without for his day to day work. Firstly, he chose a sharp set of knives as the most essential, followed by a rationale combi-oven for roasting, steaming and baking and finally an industrial stick blender! As Head Chef he knows how to cater to a large crowd!
Before we went, we asked Andy what made him proud to be Head Chef. He said training and teaching other Chefs is definitely the most rewarding part of the job. Some of the Chefs who have worked with Andy have gone on to work with the likes of Chefs such as Michael Caines, Gordon Ramsay & Raymond Blanc!