Pat Clifford has nearly 30 years of experience in classic French cuisine, cooking in both Michelin starred kitchens and culinary led product development. He gained a First class BSc. in Food Safety, Science and Quality Management from the University of Worcester in the UK. Pat’s future career was identified pretty early as he was a keen cook from an early age.

After leaving school, Pat took his formal Catering qualifications from City and Guilds and then took up a position as an assistant cook in the Royal Navy. Whilst serving, he continued his education with further advancements from City and Guilds including a teacher training qualification. After two very enjoyable years, Pat took an apprentice chef position for the Orient Express Hotel Group based in Stratford upon Avon as part of their fine dining team in the Terrace restaurant, working his way through the ranks to Demi-Chef de Partie. After five successful years, he went on to work for the famous Savoy Hotel Group’s Connaught Hotel under the tutelage of French Master chef Michel Bourdin. Initially as First Commis, Pat progresses to Chef de Partie, responsible for running several sections but more importantly guiding and mentoring the young apprentices that were fresh out of college. During his time here, he had the opportunity to cook and serve several members of the Royal Family including Princess Diana, Prince Charles, and Queen Elizabeth II. From there, he went to work for the Small Luxury Hotels of the World Group at Gravetye Manor in West Sussex as Sous Chef.

From there, Pat took a sabbatical and travelled through South East Asia and Australia working along the way to fund excursions and lodgings. Whilst here he gained a sound knowledge of Asian cuisine and the melting pot of different styles in Australia which helped him secure his first position in product development working for a large chilled prepared foods manufacturer serving all the major UK retailers. During his seven years here, he helped to develop numerous product ranges for all the major UK supermarkets spanning multiple product categories and cuisines including South East Asian. A two-year spell developing culinary training courses covering core and advanced kitchen skills helped him hone his training skills further.

Pat’s next role was little more different, intrigued with the opportunity to marry culinary artistry with flavor science, Pat applied for the role as a Culinary Application Specialist within the flavor and fragrance industry at Quest International. After two years in the Quest organization, the business was sold to Givaudan. Pat was offered a position in the new organization and spent an additional five years helping develop and implement their European culinary strategy, working with global brands including PepsiCo, Heinz, Unilever, Kraft, and Nestle. From there, he moved further into the ingredients field securing a European Corporate Chef position for Newly Weds Foods. His main focus was to develop trend led culinary concepts utilizing batters, coatings and functional systems for manufacturing and foodservice companies. After two years he took on a more senior role within Tesco, the largest UK retailer. His first main task was to build a culinary kitchen that was future proof and able to produce a plethora of different recipes from the sweet and savory world. This then became the central hub for all things food related and was the catalyst for many future development projects that will be seen on the supermarket shelves in the future. Pat will be responsible for implementing and driving our culinary strategy in Essa with a focus on the snacks category.