Get To Know The HelloFresh Chefs

HelloFresh started as a way to change how the nation eats, giving customers access to the best ingredients and showing them how to cook them to make some really delicious meals. The concept works by customers signing up to receive a meal box to their door every week, each box is filled with a whole host of fresh ingredients and a step-by-step recipe card. To eliminate those indecisive lingering antics in the supermarket on your way home where you end up settling with what you had the night before. HelloFresh aims to make meal times interesting.

So who comes up with these recipes? Well the HelloFresh recipes are put together by head chef Patrick and his team of skilled chefs, Mimi, Victoria and Andre. I decided to find out a bit more about the chefs putting the fun into cooking each night.

PATRICK

Patrick originally started out as his career as a lawyer before realising cooking was much more fun than law, swapping his fountain pen for a chef’s knife and never looked back. Since then he’s spent time in the ‘Lab’ at the Fat Duck in Bray, created an online cookery school and starred in his very own cookery TV show which aired in 68 countries.

How do you come up with new recipes? Describe the process.

It’s all about eating! I just get out there and try food wherever I can find it. A couple of weeks ago I was in Dallas and tried something called Succotash for the first time and BOOM suddenly it got me all inspired. With the DNA of that recipe I’ll then think about how I can change it to use local ingredients and influences. Essentially though it’s just about playing in the kitchen. Never be afraid to try weird and wonderful combinations as that’s how the best discoveries are made.

If you were stranded on a desert island, what ingredients couldn’t you live without?

That’s easy. Avocados, Eggs and Wholemeal Flour (to make breakfast wraps!).

What is your favourite chef hack?

It’s not a hack at all really, but more a point of discipline that can transform your cooking game: Wash up as you go! Make a mental note to always wipe down surfaces, wrap unused items and put them away and get dirty pots and utensils in the dishwasher (or quickly rinse) while you are cooking. There is always downtime between steps and if you fill it with a bit of tidying then the time passes quickly and you can relax during dinner knowing that everything is already done. It’s not a sexy hack, but trust me, it’s a game changer!

VICTORIA

Victoria has a focus on all things nutrition and the impact of food on your wellbeing. Having trained at the Natural Gourmet Institute, the Institute for Integrated Nutrition and Matthew Kenney’s Raw Food School.

What is your favourite dish to cook?

Middle eastern roast chicken with pomegranate jus and lots of wacky veggies!

Top chef you look up to?

Travis Lett, Head Chef and Owner at Gjelena, Venice, LA. He does the most magical things with veggies, making them the star of every dish.

ANDRE

Andre is a French chef with numerous experience in some world-renowned kitchens from L’Atelier to Roots & Bulbs and Chez Bruce.

Where do you draw inspiration from for new dishes?

Inspiration is drawn from ingredients that are seasonal when the recipe is due to be planned. Incorporating these ingredients into recipes that are recognisable and achievable. Twists on classics or recipes that I have created before. Current food trends, magazines, blogs and websites.

What is your favourite chef hack?

Wilting spinach in the microwave – seasoned with salt and pepper, knob of butter, tupperware tub- 2 mins in the microwave

What is your top tip for aspiring chefs?

Aspiring chefs should have an open mind with regard to all ingredients. Taste, taste, taste. Develop your palette and understand the food you are cooking. In time and with experience you will naturally pair ingredients based on your experience and understanding of food and flavours.

MIMI

When Mimi moved to London, she was originally working in HelloFresh customer care – until they realised she is an expert chef and since then she’s been adding her magic to HelloFresh boxes.

What are your main inspirations as a chef?

Probably my mum, even though we have the most ridiculous arguments if we try to cook together, she has taught me to love good food and a million tips and tricks on how to make food delicious. She also has a crepe van which she drives around the country selling crepes – ‘Mel’s Magical Crepes’, shes slightly mental.

What three ingredients could you not live without?

Garlic, potato, cream….*haha*

How do you come up with new recipes? Describe the process.

It kind of depends, I get inspiration from all over the place, going out for meals, being cooked for by my friends, cook books, magazines, pictures of food on social media, street food. I have a notepad I write down all my ideas in. We have a meeting every week where we decide the skeletons of the recipes we are cooking the week after. I then delve into my idea pad and come up with a recipe I think would be right for the brief I’ve been given. Cook it up, taste it, tweak it, or sometimes redo it, then write it!

HelloFresh chefs Patrick, Mimi, Victoria and Andre are challenging home cooks to become top chefs in just 21 days, providing exclusive access to a database of delicious recipes and expert tips. The chefs will also be hosting a series of live Facebook cook-a-long events and Twitter Q&A’s direct from the Fresh Farm at the London-based HelloFresh HQ. 

This post was sponsored by HelloFresh.