Yahoo News 'I'm a successful chef cooking for the biggest names in the culinary world but I didn't go to university to be successful'
A top Lancashire chef says formal qualifications aren't the only path to success, as he celebrates huge success in the culinary world.
Steven Halligan is the owner and Chef Patron of Restaurant Metamorphica in Haslingden which sits just eight diners every night for their exclusive tasting menus. In Spring this year, Steven made it through to the Regional Finals of the Roux Scholarship, a national cooking competition with a highly-esteemed judging panel including Angela Hartnett, James Martin and Clare Smyth.
Aside from the famous panel, making it into the Regional Finals is no mean feat. As the only representative of Lancashire, 30-year-old Steven was also the only competitor to ever represent Rossendale in the competition - a place he's proud to come from.
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Explaining the process, Steven told LancsLive: "All paper entries are whittled down to the 18 regional finalists who cook simultaneously at the Regional Finals- serving their written recipe submission along with a mystery dessert based on a theme, which is only revealed on the day. This years theme was 'crepes' and could be interpreted by the contestants in any way they wished.
"I chose to present a 'crepe souffle' with the ingredients basket offered. The competition was an honour to be a part of and I was humbled to represent my county and borough in such a prestigious cooking competition.
"While getting to the final six was out of reach this time, I was incredibly happy with my food and to reach the regional final cook off stage, in many ways it was a surreal experience to cook for the panel of Judges on the day."
Although reaching this milestone was the end of Steven's journey in the scholarship, he believes his success could inspire future chefs and others looking to make a name for themselves. He said: "There was 150 entrants this year and the winner gets sent to the best places to learn from.
"I'm just keen on showing everyone and young people, that you don't have to go to university to be successful."
At Restaurant Metamorphica, Steven has introduced 'The Butterfly Series' for this year, featuring dishes from tasting menus across international cuisines. The first took place in April, dishes from Central Mexico, the USA and Canada.
In November, the menu featured 'The Spangle Butterfly', including food from Northern India to Japan and many other countries in between. These unique plates of food are paired with rare bottles of wine, cider and other regional drinks from the relevant countries.
For the Christmas period, Restaurant Metamorphica will offer a menu called 'Christmas Past', which Steven describes as "an interesting concept of modernising forgotten Christmas traditions in our tasting menu offering. Such dishes as a Three Bird Roast and Nesselrode Pudding are a feature that have gone down well with guests in the past and will feature at some point in this years offering."
