Member of the Month September 2024: Chris Hanson

Here at The Staff Canteen, we feature a different member every month who we think deserves to be celebrated - this month’s winner is Chris Hanson.

As thanks for being a regular contributor to The Staff Canteen, Chris will receive a TSC mug, and be entered in our Member of the Year 2025 competition. 

Chris has been a member of The Staff Canteen since January 2024.

>>> Find out more about Chris and follow him

Current place of work/position?

I'm the culinary director of the Sheffield Table, a 16 seat fine dining experience in Sheffield. I'm also a director of Chef's Counter (a social enterprise events company that provides training and employment to people who've experienced homelessness and/or been through the care system) and the founder and director of Not Just Pink Custard, a family friendly cafe, school meals and vocational training company based in Sheffield. 

What is your cooking style and what should people expect from the food on your menu?

My cooking style combines my classical French training, the various places around the world I've been fortunate enough to visit and eat in with the incredible local producers we have in and around South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire. 

What is your favourite dish to cook and why?

My favourite dish on the Sheffield Table menu at present is the the Sheffield honey parfait with wild blackberry sorbet and Bullion dark chocolate tuile. All the produce in it comes from a 5 mile radius of the Sheffield Table site and it really encapsulates so much of what my style of food is about. 

Name a food item/dish/ingredient that isn’t considered “cheffy” but that you love to eat

Not sure if it's not cheffy but I find coconut milk really versatile. It's great in desserts like rice pudding and I love it as a base for curry sauces and noodle soups. 

What do you like about The Staff Canteen app and website?

I find The Staff Canteen app and website really helpful in terms of keeping up to date with what's happening in the industry. The recipe section of the website is inspiring and a useful resource that I visit regularly. I like the fact that The Staff Canteen is a unique resource that any chef can access and benefit from. 

What are your plans for the future?

This year has been about establishing the foundations for The Sheffield Table, Chef's Counter and Not Just Pink Custard to expand. In the last month we've been able to recruit a head chef and operations manager to work across all the companies and ensure we are in a position to expand as we head into 2025. We're going to be expanding our production kitchen to enable us to provide more school meals as we expand Not Just Pink Custard, with The Sheffield Table we are planning on creating a series of Sheffield themed ready meals, showcasing local suppliers and with Chef's Counter we have a couple of exceptional new events spaces we are going to be launching hospitality packages with in the next few months. We're also looking into an opportunity for a small permanent bar/restaurant site for Chef's Counter. I'm incredibly excited by the opportunities that are presenting themselves and am looking forward to seeing how the next 12 months pans out. 

What is the most important lesson you’ve learnt as a chef?

Most important lesson i've learnt is take advise from people you respect. One of the best thing I've done in recent years has been getting advice from people who are experts in their fields and people who've got more experience than I have. You're never too old to learn.