Member of the Month November 2024: Lewis Scarfe

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

As thanks for being a regular contributor to The Staff Canteen, Lewis will be entered into our member of the year 2025 competition.

Lewis has been a member of The Staff Canteen since August 2016.

>>> Find out more about Lewis and follow him <<<

We spoke with Lewis to find out a bit more about his journey in the industry.

“I started cooking about 16 years ago,” he said.

“I’m from London. I started in a private members’ club. From there I went to The Manor House in Castle Combe, The Olive Tree in Bath and then ended up working for Corinthia in London, and also Budapest.

“Recently I was at the pre-opening of Waldorf Astoria in Qatar, over the World Cup period. After that I found myself at Shangri-La in Shanghai.

“I’ve been here for over a year now. I started in August 2023. I’m chef de cuisine of a western restaurant.

“I’ve been employed as a western chef, so I look after the restaurant there. It has a Michelin plate, which is not quite a star.”

Asked about working across various countries, Lewis said: “That’s what I like about our job, especially in the hotels. There’s lots of opportunities to work all around the world.

“I love travelling, so it’s a great way to discover new cultures, new food and I really enjoy that aspect of it.”

Lewis is currently heading up The 1515 West Chophouse & Bar, which features dishes such as Australian wagyu beef and Boston lobster, as well as utilising seasonal and local ingredients.

Discussing his cooking style, Lewis said: “I keep it quite classic. I’m a classically trained chef, French sauces and that kind of thing.

“I just keep the food nice and simple, using nice ingredients, not messing about too much with it, just cooking it nicely.

“At the restaurant we’re known for our beef. We dry-age a lot of beef.

“We’ve had a nose-to-tail menu. So rather than just the prime cuts of beef, we’re using every part of the animal that we can.

“So the nose-to-tail menu is something that I really enjoy doing. Everyone is talking about sustainability and food waste, so it’s good to actually do something about it.”

Having jumped around various locations across the world, what do Lewis’s next plans look like?

“In the future I’d like to look at getting an executive chef role for a hotel,” he said.

“The next step would be an executive sous chef.

“I like working in hotels. You’ve got restaurants, banqueting, breakfasts, room service, there’s a lot going on and I quite enjoy that. Every day is different.”

To get to know a bit more about Lewis, we asked him some quick-fire questions to finish.

Name a comfort food that isn’t considered ‘cheffy’ but that you love to eat

“I’m partial to a McDonald’s or a kebab, I’m not going to lie! There are some chefs who turn their nose up at it, but you can’t go wrong with that. It’s consistent as well.”

What do you like about being a member of The Staff Canteen?

“In 2016 I signed up as a member on the site, but I remember enjoying the videos on YouTube. They used to get really great chefs, making nice dishes, they had that funky music in the background.

“I think what Mark and the team are doing over there is really good, with the app, setting up the networking lunches, the awards. It’s a nice, positive thing about hospitality, because you see so much about the negative side of it, whether that’s mental health or drug addictions and there is part of that, but The Staff Canteen always spreads the positive part of hospitality.”

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

“Just being consistent and listening to what you’re told. At my first job I was just told to keep my eyes and ears open, write everything down and learn as much as you can.

“Food is evolving all the time, so there’s so much to learn. You need to evolve with it, otherwise you just become old hat really.”