Chef Darran Benham

I have had a passion for cooking since a small boy which led to me starting my cooking career at 14 in my local Chip Shop in my home village of Pennington in Hampshire. At the age of 16 I left school and trained as a chef in the RAF where I served 12 year and achieved the RAF chef of the Year in 1998. After leaving the RAF in 2001 I took up my first head chef role in a Gastro Pub back home in Hampshire. In 2002 I made it to the final of the National Chef of the Year.

Over the years I have worked as Head Chef for Cadbury's, Ernst & Young and Kempton Park Race Course as well as being an Inflight chef for 2 airlines.

I moved to Northern Ireland in 2015 where I worked for Bushmills Distillery as a development chef and won a Gold Medal and best in class at ifex 2016 before moving to Moy Park as development chef for M&S Food.

I now alone work on private dining options to ensure I can give my full focus on the food I cook.