Chef Shine victory is Chris Barbakis's goal

Jul 29 2009 by Carrie Catterall, Birkenhead News

WELL-TRAVELLED Chris Barbakis says he has all the ingredients he needs to win this year’s Chef Shine.

The 28-year-old chef at Paesano restaurant, Leverhulme Hotel, Port Sunlight, is our fourth finalist in Wirral Chefs Shine 2009.

After leaving South Wirral High School he trained for two years at Liverpool Community College, Colquitt Street, to become a chef.

His first job was then at Ziba, Liverpool, before spending six years cooking in the Royal Navy after a spell at The Three Stags, Spital.

Chris, who lives in Spital, said: “Being in the navy was a really good experience because I travelled all over the world and learned about different foods.

“When I arrived back home an opportunity to become a chef at Paesano’s opened up and I have now been working here for seven months.

“I work alongside our executive chef Moyo Benson, who is really inspiring and teaches me lots of new things.

“We actually put our heads together to create the perfect menu for Chef Shine.

“I think I can definitely win. I think my food goes down so well because of my experience.

“I have learnt over the years and through my travels what foods go well together and this is shown in my menu.”

In his spare time Chris likes to cook Indian food because he can experiment with different spices to create new flavours.