Clive Fretwell
Name: Clive Fretwell
Date of birth: 16 September 1961
Job title: Executive chef, Le Petit Blanc Group
Location: Manchester, Birmingham, Oxford, Cheltenham. Head office in Watlington, Oxfordshire.
First job in hospitality? At age 18 after two years at catering college, I started as a commis chef at a large hotel in Bristol but I didn't enjoy it. The emphasis was on getting the food out as quickly as possible and it wasn't high class food.
How did you get from there to your current job?
When I was 20, I wrote to Raymond Blanc and asked for a job but he wasn't interested and said that he needed someone with experience in classic European cuisine. So I wrote 50 letters to various hotels and restaurants across Europe asking for a job. Finally, I got accepted by the Hotel Richmond in Geneva, where I worked for a year. It was fabulous and everything that I had anticipated French cooking would be.
After a year, I wrote to Monsieur Blanc again and he invited me to an interview. At 22, I started with him as Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons was opening. I was there for 13 years and rose to become executive chef. I then left to join Itsu in London because I really wanted to learn about Japanese cuisine. I was there for five years before Monsieur Le Blanc contacted me and asked if I would like to oversee the development of Le Petit Blanc.
What do you most enjoy about your job?
Seeing beautifully prepared food go out on the plate. It has been wonderful to come on board and take the reins and be able to push all four restaurants in the same direction and see continuity emerge on the plate.
What do you dislike about the job? Being away from my wife and family for most of the week. That is hard and I'm not enjoying that side of things at the moment.
What attributes do you need to do your job?
Lots of patience and focus on the different tasks that need to be done each day.
What would be your next move? I've just arrived in this job and this is what I would have dreamt about doing anyway, so I'm not thinking about the next move.
What would be your ultimate career move? I see my future here. I'm now doing what I would most love to be doing which is to be in charge of a group of restaurants and to maintain the food accolades. It's fantastic. Also, someone else worries about the financial side of the business. And next year, the Blanc Vite cafes will be launched and I expect to be involved in food development for these as well as for Le Petit Blanc. Ultimately, to become a shareholder in the group would be great but I know that first, I have to satisfy Monsieur Blanc and make a real success of what I'm doing.
