Steve Drake (chef)

Steve Drake is a British chef who has held a Michelin star at two restaurants, including his current establishment, Drake's. He has previously worked under a number of chefs, including Nico Ladenis and Marco Pierre White.

Career

He began his culinary career working in a café making bacon sandwiches.^[1] After culinary school he began working under Keith Stanley at The Ritz London Hotel, at the age of 17 in 1990. He was staying in shared accommodation, and met a fellow chef who was working at Nico Ladenis' restaurant. Drake went for an interview and gained a job there, staying for a year.^[2]

He moved to work at Pied à Terre under Tom Aikens during the period when Aikens had just taken over from the previous chef. He only stayed for a few months an interviewed for a job at the Oak Room, working for Marco Pierre White. On his first day there, his job was to prep the tomatoes for a crab dish. On the second day a chef on the fish section left, and White placed Drake onto the section, where he stayed for the rest of the time at the restaurant.^[2]

After Gordon Ramsay left Aubergine, Drake was brought in as a sous chef under William Drabbel for the reopening of the restaurant. He left the restaurant to go become a head chef at Drake's on the Pond in Abinger Hammer, Surrey.^[2] Whilst he was there, Drake won the Roux Scholarship in 2001 and travelled to France to work at L’Auberge De L’Eridan.^[3] It was the third time that Drake had reached the final of the scholarship, having done so previously in both 1999 and 2000.^[4] In 2003, Drake's on the Pond was awarded a Michelin star.^[2]

Drake left the restaurant shortly afterwards to become chef proprietor at Drake's, purchasing the restaurant from Michel and Dorothy Albina.^[5] It was awarded a Michelin star in its first year, and three AA Rosettes.^[2][6]

References