A life of 4am starts and long shifts in hot kitchens might sound tough, but its a dream come true for this star of the future
Not long ago, the young chef April Lily Partridge worked a memorable shift. The 21-year-old from Chingford runs the sauce section at the Club at the Ivy in Londons West End, and on the first morning of service after the August bank holiday, having an idea her station would be empty of its chutneys and purées, its stocks and salsa verdes, she got up early 4am to bus in from Essex. She was cooking by six. At 3pm Partridge checked the kitchen rota to learn she was booked to work the evening shift too. She didnt leave her sauce station until after midnight, home by 3am. I love this job, she says.
Currently chef de partie, Partridge has impressed within and without this famous members club selected by OFMs awards judges, including Angela Hartnett, Tom Kitchin and Nathan Outlaw, as the most promising newcomer to their industry. Within the Ivy she is Pril, the one-day work experience who never went away, a highly regarded protégé to executive chef Gary Lee, a keen experimenter. The day we meet, Partridge tells me shes been trying to concoct a sort of chocolate fondant that tastes like a toffee apple. She plans to serve the dish (with cardamom ice cream, autumn on a plate!) to the judges at this years final of the Young National Chef competition. Partridge shows me pictures of early test runs. At school I did art, so plating food comes naturally, I love plating food. But getting the flavour right? Youve got to nail that.
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