Tom joined Le Pont de la Tour as head chef in September 2011, bringing with him a cuisine style rooted in his classical French training.

He started cooking at 15 in 1997. When he was 21 he joined Gary Rhodes’ restaurant, City Rhodes, as commis chef. After three years learning the ropes of a cuisine style he describes as leaning towards French technique and perfect in its simplicity, Tom moved to Le Gavroche.

He spent two years cooking classic French food under Michel Roux Jr, before moving to The Capital, under head chef Eric Chavot, as chef de partie. At The Capital Tom discovered a style of cuisine that was very French, but also modern – “a different spin on French cuisine,” he says. His next position was at two Michelin-starred restaurant Midsummer House in Cambridge working for chef patron Daniel Clifford, where he discovered food with an even more modern style again.

In 2005 Tom returned to The Capital for six months, before deciding it was time to head for Paris and brush up on his patisserie skills. He spent one year at MOF pastry chef Laurent Duchêne’s pastry shop of the same name. In 2006, Tom moved to New Zealand to head up the pastry section for the opening of the 5* Westin Hotel in Auckland.

Tom’s next stop was Sydney, Australia, where Tom worked as sous chef at renowned seafood destination, Pier Restaurant (recognised as one of the San Pellegrino Best 100 Restaurants in the World in 2009). After two and a half years there, Tom came back to England in 2010 to be head chef at Restaurant Tom Aikens.

Watch Tom Cook share his recipe for Loch Var Salmon & Morteau sausage below: