WIRRAL CHEFS SHINE 2008: Dad-to-be Dave aiming for victory

Jun 25 2008 by Lorna Hughes, Birkenhead News

Chef David Williams of The Portrait House serves up a tasty menu for Wirral Chef Shine

IN just five years talented Dave Williams has gone from washing dishes to head chef at Hoylake’s The Portrait House.

The 21-year-old from Newton started work at the Green Room in West Kirby just after turning 16.

The job sparked a passion for chefing and within a year he was helping to prepare food.

After leaving Calday Grammar School Dave started a university course in product design but after two years the lure of chefing proved too much.

Early last year he answered a call from a friend to help out with the opening night of The Portrait House - and ended up staying!

Dave said: “The manager here told me about the opening night and asked me to help cover it. I enjoyed it, it seemed like a nice place to work and I’m still here!

“I started as a commis chef and worked my way up to second chef. In December the head chef left and I took over. It was busy but we got through it!

“It’s a good place to work and we’ve got quite a young team. There are four other chefs here and they’re all around my age.”

Dave’s hopes his Wirral Chefs Shine menu, which reflects the style of the cuisine at The Portrait House, will wow diners on July 8.

And he says winning the award would be the icing on the cake of an exciting year - the chef and his girlfriend Amy, a manager at the restaurant, are expecting a baby in November.

He said: “I’ve never done a competition before so I thought I’d give it a go as it’s something new!

“We have some traditional British food on the menu, some Italian - I would say it’s modern European and my menu shows that.

“We’re always playing around with our specials board and I like trying new dishes to see what people think about my ideas.

“Recently we’ve changed our dessert menu and started making our own bread and I’ve really enjoyed doing that.

“I’m really happy here for now and I can’t see that changing. I want to stay with the restaurant for the next few years and see it grow.”

l Wirral Chefs Shine at The Portrait House, The Quadrant, Hoylake takes place in the evening of Tuesday, July 8. The cost of the meal is £14.

To book call the restaurant on 632 4444.