Mad about the job

Madalene Bonvini-Hamel doesn't waste a minute on small talk. Her words spill out in a confession as soon as she sits down. She confesses that she can't walk down a street in the afternoon without worrying that a colleague might see her - report her, even. She finds it difficult to sit around watching TV. She finds it even harder to do less than a 16-hour working day. She just can't shake off the guilt that, at last, she has a life.

It's a feeling that stems from the nine years she spent trying to prove herself in some of London's toughest kitchens. Six years ago she joined top chef Gordon Ramsay's empire, working in a range of jobs - from chef de partie to helping set up his eponymous scholarship. It's a training ground that many would kill for, but Bonvini-Hamel is glad it's all behind her.

In fact, she can barely believe her recent good fortune. For the past four months the South African-born 29-year-old has been head chef of hospitality for contract caterer BaxterSmith at a high-profile, but confidential, City site. Where once she was working from 6.30am to 12.30am, six days a week, at Aubergine, her hours now are 7am to 4pm and weekends are her own - except for being on call twice a month.

"It's a dream job for me. I've got a family life; I feel like a human being. The job gives me the scope and freedom to do what I want," she says. "Restaurant work robbed me of my personal life.

"Oh, and pay," she adds, almost as an afterthought, "is much better in contract catering. I'm now paid overtime - I get paid for what I do."

The catalyst for change came a few years into her marriage, when Bonvini-Hamel finally decided her life was "crazy". She never saw her husband, didn't even have time to do the laundry, and was far too tired to go out. This coincided with Ramsay's expansion and a change in her role away from the stove to "jack of all trades", and was compounded by a growing irritation with the chauvinism and politics she found in the restaurant world.

Nevertheless, deciding to make the move wasn't an easy choice. Her colleagues made no bones about their low opinion of contract catering. "My husband works in this sector and they always referred to him as ‘the failure'. People slagged contract catering off; it was an ego thing. Now I want to prove to the rest of the world that contract catering is good."

Initially, her new employers weren't sure she was making the right decision, either. "When I applied, [managing director] Mike Smith wasn't convinced that I knew what I was letting myself in for - he thought I would become blasé."

In reality, the job has brought unexpected challenges. Bonvini-Hamel has direct responsibility for hospitality - particularly in the City firm's five dining rooms - and jointly oversees the partners' dining room with executive head chef Ross Pike.

For the first time, she finds she's getting involved in sourcing produce and ordering. But it's at the stove where, ironically, she's the most stretched. In the restaurant world she was just one of a team of chefs preparing a small component of a dish. She now plans and cooks two- or three-course meals from start to finish, aided by chef de partie Mark Chambers - sometimes at short notice.

"I've been cooking in restaurants for nine years but am only just becoming a chef now," she says. "Sometimes I have all five dining rooms to cook for, with a choice of two starters and two main courses. It took me a while to get my head around it."

Bonvini-Hamel likes cooking classical dishes with a twist, but has had to adjust her style slightly. "You have to cook things that people recognise in contract catering," she points out.

So does she miss the excitement of working in what many perceive as the sexier world of restaurants? Bonvini-Hamel is almost puzzled by the question. Her experience as a woman in macho restaurant kitchens, it seems, was no picnic. "I had to work harder than my colleagues. They called me ‘she'… There was a lot of aggression. If I didn't have a strong character, I would fall flat."

Certainly, Bonvini-Hamel isn't as fragile as she looks. She did, after all, build a career in the restaurant world over nine years and would still urge aspiring chefs to start out in restaurants.

"It has developed me as a person. I have learnt discipline and respect. I wouldn't want to change that experience. There's maybe a right way to blanch beans, but no one way to make a sauce - I am honoured to know how one of the country's best chefs does it."

And what about the future? Bonvini-Hamel is clearly still too exhausted by the past to look ahead just yet. "I did have goals but they have fizzled away," she says. "I have always been the wrong sex and from the wrong country - I wouldn't want my own place now. I want to grow at BaxterSmith, teach people and pass on my knowledge. Then I will be happy."

Do you have any views on the differences between the commercial world and the contract catering sector? If you have a story to tell, e-mail the contract catering editor at rosalind.mullen@rbi.co.uk.

Potted Madalene

Madalene Bonvini-Hamel, 29, was born in South Africa, where she studied food and clothing.

1993
Came to the UK and met her future husband, a chef. He suggested she try cooking. She started out at London's Kensington Place, where Rowley Leigh gave her the chance to work in his kitchen.

1995 Moved to Gordon Ramsay's Aubergine as commis chef.

1997 Six-month stage at Le Gavroche.

Returned to the Gordon Ramsay empire in a varied role, working in live demonstrations and on TV programmes. Helped set up Gordon Ramsay Scholarship and organise launch of Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's.

2002 Joined BaxterSmith as head chef of hospitality at a prestigious City site.

The contract

Baxtersmith's £1.6m City contract (with an undisclosed client) is no ordinary staff-feeding operation - after all, it's not often a client spends £2m on a state-of-the-art kitchen. In fact, only a handful of City contracts are similar and the confidentiality surrounding it underlines the client's high expectations.

To make sure the right staff are in place, executive head chef Ross Pike recruits most of the 13 chefs from restaurants.

"They've been trained well and are used to working long hours, so they respect working here 200%. Madalene has brought quality and we will strive for that across the building," he says.

General catering manager Deborah Pearce adds that competition for custom is stiff: "We are bringing in top chefs because clients like this can [afford to] take guests out to restaurants and we want to encourage them to eat in."

Pearce admits that her image of contract catering has been turned upside down. Her background is as front of house manager in small independent hotels, including the Great House in Sonning, near Reading. She made the move to contract catering because she was fed up with long hours and wasn't sure what to do next - she knew it was unlikely she would ever run her own hotel.

"I have been amazed at the quality here," she says. "It's like a restaurant, just on a larger scale. BaxterSmith encourages you to bring ideas from the hotel and restaurant world," Pearce says.

Pike himself has been at BaxterSmith for two years, and before that was at London's Sugar Club restaurant and Hanbury Manor in Hertfordshire.

"I sometimes miss the buzz because it's not as intense. At other times, this is heaven," he says.

Recently, BaxterSmith took all its head chefs to the Fat Duck at Bray, Berkshire, to sample Heston Blumenthal's experimental cooking. Now Pike says he wants to spend a week with him. Snail porridge might soon be on the menu at BaxterSmith.

Factfile

Contract:
A subsidised rolling contract to feed the 1,400 employees at this high-profile City firm. The client, which doesn't want to be named, recently moved into state-of-the-art offices
Annual turnover: £1.6m
Gross profit in staff restaurant: 15%; hospitality is at cost
Executive head chef: Ross Pike (responsible for the staff restaurant and 114-seat partners dining room)
Head chef of hospitality: Madalene Bonvini-Hamel (responsibility for all hospitality and partners dining room)
General catering manager: Deborah Pearce
No of catering staff: 50
No of chefs: 13
No of kitchens: three

Staff restaurant
* 7-10amCoffee bar serves breakfast, coffees and take-aways
\ 11am Deli-bar opens with made-to-order sandwiches, paninis, etc
\ 12-2.30pm Main restaurant opens, serving grills, roasts, home-made pizzas, pasta, Oriental dishes, salad bar and sandwiches

Trading places

From commercial to contract catering

Ian Mitchell
JOB: Co-founder of Bartlett Mitchell
BACKGROUND: After being a Savoy trainee, worked in hotels such as the Crillon in Paris and the Cafe« Royal in London.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO CONTRACT CATERING? I followed a Cafe« Royal manager to Gardner Merchant.
DO YOU MISS HOTELS? I missed hotels and still do, but contract catering has allowed me to run my own business.
WHAT'S YOUR ADVICE TO YOUNG PEOPLE? They should get experience in the commercial side first. You can travel the world if you work for hotels.

From contract to commercial catering
Gary Witchalls
JOB: Chef
BACKGROUND: Trained at Claridge's, worked in hotels and in contract catering. Opened his own restaurant, Epicurus in Blackmore, Essex, which has now closed.
WOULD YOU GO BACK TO CONTRACT CATERING? It would depend on the position. There are some great contracts.
WHAT'S THE DOWNSIDE? The cushy hours can attract people who aren't passionate about food.
WHAT ABOUT RESTAURANTS? It was great to cook my own food; hard getting the financial side to work.