Alex was 26 when he found his soulmate but now needed to go home, his father was dying of Polio which he had suffered from since he was 6 months old. Alex had cared for him from a young age until he remarried, but had to return to him. His parents had divorced when he was 5. Originally Alex lived with his mother but while still young he decided he wanted to live with his father, who was originally a photographer, however as Post-Polio Syndrome slowly took hold, he lost his physical abilities and Alex became his carer from the age of 10 until he was 18.

His father always enjoyed experimenting with food. From a young age, Alex would cook with him and loved creating recipes. One day he asked him, “Does a chef make a lot of money”? His father said, “They can do if they are very good”. From that day on Alex knew what he wanted to be. One day he would be a successful chef and open his own place.

From the age of 15 Alex worked. He was extremely determined and had to grow up very quickly. He got his GCSE in Catering, then attended Westminster College for a Professional Chef’s Diploma. Keen to gain experience but wanting to continue his studies, he did work experience at The Lanesborough, was sent to Scott’s of Mayfair, where after 2 months he was offered a place in the kitchen and in his third year worked part-time at Le Meridien in Piccadilly. Citing Pierre Koffmann as his biggest influence to this day, Alex left college to work for him at La Tante Claire for a year.

He jokingly says, “Chef taught me how to cook pig trotters properly”! Valuable lessons were learnt here and have stayed with him throughout his career. After Pierre, Alex went to The Montcalm Hotel as Chef de partie. During his probation he was offered Junior Sous Chef and eventually achieved Senior Sous Chef before leaving to become Head Chef at Spearmint Rhino at the age of 21, during its hay day when mega celebrities would visit.

Originally, Alex had made a plan to travel the world as a chef and so he went to France to work for Alain Ducasse, but was told he would struggle not speaking any French. A friend suggested he go to Hong Kong and so at 23 he jumped on a plane and ended up launching V Restaurant and Bar as Head chef, becoming General Manager within 1.5 years. Hong Kong is where he met the love of his life, Virginia. Returning to the UK to care for his dying father, Alex went on to work for L’Atelier De Joel Robuchon, before becoming Head of Catering at the Lawn Tennis Association, where he stayed for  7 years before taking redundancy and moving to The Mansion House, official residence of The Lord Mayor of London, as Executive Chef, cooking for many members of The Royal Family and other distinguished dignitaries from all over the world, such as The King of Spain, The Chairman of China, an Ex American President and other international royalty. 2 years later Alex was appointed Executive Head Chef at St Ermin’s Hotel with 6 outlets, 35 chefs and 10 porters pre-Covid. It was here that he was finally able to achieve some recognition for all of his years of hard work, winning 2 AA rosettes and close to earning 3 before the pandemic stopped the standard he was building.