Jan Bretschneider, Member of the Month, Langshott Manor

Here at The Staff Canteen we felt it would be a great idea to show our appreciation to our loyal users, so from now on we will be featuring a different member every month, and get to know a little bit more about them. This month’s winner is Jan Bretschnieder, who works as the Sous Chef at the Langshott Manor in Surrey, a four-star country hotel and shooting lodge. Jan has been there for five years and is overwhelmingly positive about his experience there: “It’s fantastic, it’s always been a great opportunity to be honest, we only have a small kitchen team so it’s like a family ”. Jan, originally from Germany, has had the opportunity to travel around various countries through cooking. He told us “some people spend millions on holidays without really getting to know the places they visit” and that “one of the best parts of my job is getting to see and learn much more about the places I visit.”

Jan’s a family man and works with his fiancée Stacey Barnett, who is the pastry chef at Langshott Manor. “I may wear the trousers at work, but she wears them at home,” he joked. “This year will be the first time in 15 years that I will be spending Christmas with my family, however that’s not to say that the last 15 years have not been an absolute blast, as I have loved it, but now is the time to make the decision to spend that time with them”. “I was quite surprised to be named member of the month, there are some great people on The Staff Canteen, I often like to meet people on the site, and go and eat where they work, which is a very good thing for the community of chefs”.

If you would like to keep up with Jan, follow him on twitter: @janbretschneide

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