Curley's pâtisserie for all

CHEF-pâtissier William Curley has left his position at London's Savoy hotel to launch his own supply company, Pâtisserie One.

Teaming up with fruit and fruit juice supermarket supplier Orchard House Foods, based at Corby in Northamptonshire, Curley is hoping to bring his pastry skills to the general public as well as supplying hotels and restaurants.

"I have been at the cutting edge of pastry for many years," said Curley, "having worked for Marco Pierre White, Pierre Koffmann and Raymond Blanc - the three most important chefs of the past decade.

"But until now, restaurant pâtisserie has not really been available to the public. We are planning to bring some of the better-known restaurant dishes to a new audience."

Despite the valuable input that Curley gained while working with White, Koffmann and Blanc, he said that it was his time at the Savoy, where he learned most about volume and consistency, that will perhaps stand in him in good stead the most.

"I learned a lot from Anton Edelmann, who was instrumental in my development over my two-and-a-half years in the job," he said. "Now I want to put that know-ledge and my prior experience together to produce quality pastries for anyone to buy."

Curley, who will be launching the company in spring from a production base at Hinckley in Leicestershire will first be producing "enhanced restaurant-quality" jellies, fruit tarts and apple tatins, before moving on to more innovative dishes.

"My job is to oversee the operation and develop and create new ideas and concepts," he said. "It's an exciting project."

By Amanda Afiya