by Dr. Iain
Corness
One
of the quiet men in the bustling world of commercial kitchens is a
Scottish country boy called John Hogg, who is here as the kitchens
operations manager at the Pattaya Marriott Resort and Spa.
He came from a very rural area outside Edinburgh in
Scotland, and despite the fact that he has worked in some of the largest
cities in UK, Europe and Australia, remains unchanged by the ‘fast
lane’ and glitzy living.
He spent his childhood in Prestonpans, a town generally
unknown to all, other than those who are interested in the history of
Bonnie Prince Charlie, who defeated the British there in 1745. A little
before John’s time.
John’s father was at one stage a restaurant manager
and John remembers well going to help his father clean up after a
function. John cleared glasses from the tables and helped wash them.
“The barman gave me a handful of change and I went home a rich man!”
John was nine years old at the time!
When he was 16 and finishing school, his best friend
was going to apply for catering college, and John went along for a ride in
the car. When the two boys arrived at the college John was asked was he
applying too, so he said yes - he was there after all. He found he was
accepted and thus began his life’s work.
He went through the usual training courses, theory work
and placements in hotel kitchens, starting as we all do at the bottom of
our respective ladders. He was doing a job, but at that stage there was no
real commitment. He even took six months off. “I did what all young boys
do and went to Spain and worked in a bar. It was called the Shamrock and
Thistle.”
However, after returning he went to work in the fine
dining section of the Glasgow Casino. “Everything just clicked,”
remembers John, and his career path became clearer. He then began working
all over Scotland and England, going to the back pages of the catering
magazines and choosing from the hundreds of job opportunities. But he was
to discover that these were again ‘jobs’ not career stepping-stones.
It really hit him when he was working in a hotel that
specialized in weddings and John was part of the mass production of food
dictated to by the pre-set budget price. “I was watching the TV chefs
and I thought to myself, I don’t really know how to cook. I had to make
the decision whether I wanted to be a top chef or otherwise.”
He decided that he did want to be a top chef and moved
to a small restaurant where he became an experienced chef’s right hand
man. From there he began to rise through the ranks and moved to France
working in a Michelin Star hotel. However, a setback was to occur. He was
seriously injured in a road accident, breaking his back and an arm and was
hospitalized for many months. Money began to get tight and he had to
return to the UK to live with his parents while he recuperated.
As soon as he was on his feet again, he took the first
job he could get close to his parent’s house. “It was a bit of a
serious come-down, opening frozen food,” said John, but his natural
buoyant personality rose again and he went to Edinburgh to the
International Convention Centre there. “My career kicked off again,”
he said.
He was certainly on his feet again, but he was running
too fast. Little or no time off, grabbing quick meals, all began to affect
his health and when he was offered a position in a company doing boardroom
catering he took it. Here he met the famous Scottish Culinary Team, gold
medal winners in the competitions, and was invited to join. But this was
again a hectic pace. “On my first big gig with the Scottish Culinary
Team we were on the go in London for three days and three nights. I was so
tired I fell asleep on the toilet!”
To try and get a balance back in his life, he decided
that he needed a hobby, to take his mind off work. “I took up
windsurfing, but the weather (in Scotland) was a problem.” The way round
this was to go to somewhere like Australia and so he applied to emigrate.
“For months I was getting things for the application. It was like a
hobby filling out forms.”
Eventually all the forms were filled and he went to
Australia and took a position in the Sydney Harbour Convention Centre.
This was back into the hurly-burly of chaotic kitchen life, working all
hours and six or seven days a week, and where he was having to use agency
staff to keep the kitchens producing the product. Eventually he thought
that he was being a mug and joined the agency himself. At last he could
dictate his own hours. This was also a good move. “I got to work for
every five star place in Sydney.”
Being able to have time off was also advantageous, and
he came to Bangkok for a holiday. Here was a city he enjoyed, so he
decided to come to Thailand and see what was available. Despite the fact
that jobs were not as plentiful as in Sydney, he soon found his feet and
began to make his mark, becoming known well enough to take the position in
Pattaya when that became available seven months ago.
So despite being in management, you will still see John
Hogg in the kitchens. “I enjoy being in the kitchens. I couldn’t face
my staff if I couldn’t do the work myself. I am really enjoying my
cooking now.”
So the country boy is here, and loving it. “It’s a
good country for me, where I can step back and relax.” I think he’ll
be here for quite some time!
