Chef who worked at prestigious venues all over the world returns to Northampton College where it began

Dan Fitzhugh was born and bred in the town and started his culinary education at Northampton College 22 years ago.

He began his career working as an apprentice at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons and progressed to a junior sous chef five years later. Having spent a year in this new role, he left after a total of six at the restaurant.

Dan then worked as head chef at Richard Branson’s private lodge in Switzerland for three years and moved to be the executive chef at his 40-bedroom hotel in Morocco for a further two years, before returning to the UK.

He worked at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons for a number of months before he was called to Raymond Blanc’s office and offered the role of his development chef.

Having “rapidly accepted” the position, Dan spent the next nine years travelling the world – and then made the decision to leave this part of his life behind to teach at Northampton College.

When asked his biggest learnings from his experiences over the past two decades, Dan told the Chronicle & Echo: “Be a sponge. Absorb as much information as you can, as you never know when you’re going to get that genius idea.”

He also shared how crucial travelling has been to his self-development, describing seeing the world as “one of the best things” he has done.

“Work hard and don’t be in too much of a rush to jump the ladder,” Dan continued. “Getting a solid foundation in your twenties is really important.”

His final learning is that “fresh and local is best” and he urges anyone in the hospitality industry to be as seasonal as they can, as it will work in their favour in enhancing taste and flavour.

Dan praised his mum and nan as being great cooks and said he grew up surrounded by good food, which inspired him to get involved from a young age.

When asked why now was the right time to take up teaching and return to where it all began for him, Dan said: “I’m very lucky and fortunate that in my career I’ve had some amazing opportunities and have worked in most aspects of hospitality.

“I’ve done menus for brasseries and pubs to two Michelin Star hotels. I’ve got a really good understanding and knowledge and it’s important to share that.”

With a young family, Dan was eager to have a better work-life balance and knew he wanted to give back by teaching the next generation of chefs.

Dan had already returned to Northampton College a number of times over the past four years to host talks, after curriculum manager for culinary arts, hospitality, travel and tourism Phil Martin remained in touch.

The chef says that it is almost as if he never left Northampton – and praised Phil for keeping connections with those in the industry to ensure a high level of culinary teaching for the young people of the town.