IN THE SPOTLIGHT – Tom Owen

MEET TOM, FORMER HEAD CHEF OF THE ORANGE TREE AND SOON TO BE HEAD CHEF OF OUR NEW VENUE WILLOW. HE JOINED US 7 YEARS AGO, WORKING HIS WAY THROUGH THE RANKS UNTIL BEING DESERVEDLY HANDED A HEAD CHEF ROLE. HE LOVES WATCHING FOOTBALL AND IS A BIG WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS FAN (UP THE WOLVES!) AND ON HIS DAYS OFF WORKS ON HIS HANDICAP AFTER RECENTLY TAKING UP GOLF.

He started his hospitality journey at the age of 16 working in various venues around the Stoke-On-Trent area and it didn’t take him long to realise that being a chef was the career that he wanted.

“My first hospitality job was at the North Stafford Hotel working as a waiter on their functions. I wasn’t there for too long and at 17 I started working as a kitchen porter at the Gatehouse in Clayton and that’s when I realised, I really enjoyed working in a kitchen environment and at 18 I moved to Fallons, a small café restaurant in Newcastle as a chef.

In 2014 Tom joined the Parogon Group as a commis chef at the Orange Tree and his passion for food as well as his desire to learn as much as he could soon became evident. This, along with being a great personality in the kitchen that everyone loved, made him an integral part of the kitchen team.

“It was a little daunting moving to the Orange Tree as I knew it’s reputation for great food and great service so I hoped I could meet the standards that were required, also it was mega busy! Luckily though the kitchen team were great and they constantly supported me as I found my feet and grew into my new role.

Any nerves that Tom had in those early days soon disappeared and his position within the kitchen went from strength to strength. He was eager to work his way up the ranks within the kitchen and as soon as he had reached one step on the ladder of progression he was ready to go for the next one.

“When I realised the opportunities were there to progress within Parogon it really helped make my mind up that I wanted to push myself as far as I could. I had seen first-hand people around me moving their way up in the company and I wanted the same!”

At the age of 25, after learning every aspect of the kitchen as a commis chef, chef de partie and a sous chef, he became Head Chef of the Orange Tree. All that hard work and determination had finally paid off and he continued to be loved by the team winning the peoples choice award for back of house manager of the year in 2019.

“Becoming Head Chef was a great achievement for me and although challenging at times I have loved every minute of the past 2 ½ years in this role. I have learnt a hell of a lot and can’t wait to head up the team at Willow which is going to be really exciting for everyone involved. What is also great is that it has opened up the door for people to become the new Head Chef of the Orange Tree.

However, it’s not all about work and when Tom isn’t feeding our guests he loves trying out (when allowed) new places to eat and drink and quite often can be found enjoying what Manchester has to offer.

He also loves listening to music and going to gigs and has a varied taste in music ranging from the 1975 to Chance the Rapper.

With his passion for food and experience he has of working for Parogon as a Head Chef, we know he will have great success leading the kitchen team at Willow and we wish him all the luck in this next step of his Parogon journey.