Lee Streeton
Executive Chef, Browns Hotel, London
Attended Accelerated Talent Development Programme
Despite having made it to executive chef by
the age of thirty, Lee’s initial introduction to
the catering and hospitality industry was rather
less glamorous, involving long hours at a
Somerset hostelry as potwasher and general
culinary assistant. He soon became the
venue’s chef before moving to the Savoy in
London as a trainee, continuing his career with
spells at The Ivy and Le Caprice and taking on
the head chef role in Kuwait’s Villa Moda. On
his return to the UK he became head chef at
Daphne’s prior to joining Mark Hix at Brown’s
Hotel (part of the exclusive Rocco Forte
Collection) as executive chef.
Lee was recommended to undertake the
Cranfield ATDP by Brown’s general manager
Stuart Johnson. “To be honest, I had no
expectations at all before I went there,” says
Lee. “That’s the way I like it; expectations can
be the worst thing. I didn’t do much research
on Cranfield beforehand. I went more out of
curiosity than anything else. I probably
wouldn’t have done it unless it had been
suggested to me, but I’m very glad I did.”
“The scariest thing for me was the opening
speech that beginners had to give about
themselves, in front of a room of people they
didn’t know,” he continues. “There was a
camera there, too, and it was all a bit of a
disaster. That’s one of the things I learned
from the course – I can’t really work from a
script; it has to come from the heart. I talk
much better when I’m just being myself.”
One of the biggest challenges came during the
first weekend of the programme, when the
attendees were split up into two groups to
work on a major project together. “It was a
great way to find out about how other people
work,” says Lee. “It was tough – tempers
occasionally got a bit frayed, but we had a few
drinks on the Saturday night and the group
started to bond really well as we began to get
an insight into each other’s real characters.
One guy actually said ‘You probably know more
about me now than all of my best mates.’ It
was also great to meet people from other
industries.”
Presentations were made on the Sunday
evening, with the conversation afterwards
focusing on how and why people react to
things the way they do. “We went for dinner
on the Sunday night and everyone felt
emotionally drained,” says Lee. Then the
process of reviewing and moving on started on
the Monday.
Returning to the real world after the
programme, Lee initially found it quite difficult
to evaluate what the course had done for him.
“I felt a bit lost when I came back into work,”
he says. “I wasn’t sure what to achieve any
more. For me, the main focus of the course
was all about the individual – learning about
self-awareness, and how you’re perceived by
others.
“That’s what I really got out of it. It helped me
to re-evaluate my career plans, and focus on
doing what really makes me happy. For the
first month or so back in the kitchen, I was
probably over-analysing everything. But it
certainly helped me to see the bigger picture.
“I’d recommend the programme to other
www.cranfield.ac.uk/som/gmdp/atdp
chefs,” he continues. “Whilst they may not
traditionally be that interested in going on
courses, the whole industry is starting to
change – you need to know more about
management, HR issues and so on now. For
me, it was also important that we had a really
good mix of people. We bonded very well and
became very close – especially when the
Guinness was flowing in the evenings! We all
met up again within three weeks of finishing
the course – they all came to Brown’s – and
we’ll continue to do so.”
Experiencing the ATDP will also benefit Lee in
his latest challenge of starting life with a brand
-new prestige hotel. “Hotels used to be where
people went to eat,” he says. “Now it’s
restaurants. That’s why hotels are increasingly
appointing big-name chefs – they want to get
the business back. So we need to do things
differently – change things totally, and get rid
of the old ways.” This, above all, is where the
broader perspective Lee gained from his
Cranfield programme should come into its own.
Contact
Sara Shakespeare
T: +44 (0)1234 754569
F: +44 (0)1234 751908
E: sara.shakespeare@cranfield.ac.uk
www.cranfield.ac.uk/som/gmdp/atdp