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Connor Stow

Current Career: Pastry Chef

Connor Stow, a former Kelvin Hall Pupil, recently named Best Junior Pastry Chef in the UK 2019, has given us an insight into his career journey.

Why did you choose this career?

I went into this career because firstly my parents were not great cooks so I wanted to learn how to cook properly. Secondly because I just loved food and was very interested in how the food was prepared and where it came from. I also enjoyed the artistic part of it you can be very imaginative with the flavours and the presentation of the dish. The people you work with are great too, every chef you meet is passionate about their work in a kitchen and you are a team and everyone has each other’s back. I have made some very good friends being in this career.

Your journey from school… (what pathway did you follow, why did you choose this route, what have your learnt along the way).

Once I left school I went to Hull College to study Level 2 Culinary Skills but to also pass my maths as I didn’t achieve a C grade at school. I chose to do catering because I did food at school and this is where my passion started. I picked Hull College because it seemed very friendly and they had a very good reputation of making good chefs and winning lots of medals at competitions, making them one of the best colleges in the UK! I then went on to do Level 3 Culinary Skills and Professional Pastry and this in when I started to do competitions.

What advice would you give to your 16 year old self?

I would have personally tried harder in my maths classes as not passing held me back at college. I couldn't compete in competitions for the first year. I also had to do more hours at college because of this when my friends had free time. I would also never of followed my friends when we went to college for taster days because I was stuck in a class I wasn't interested in.

Connor who has recently appeared on Bake Off the Professionals and has also represented Team UK at the Skills Olympics is a clear example of what can be achieved with hard work and determination!

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