Profile

Andy Bailey
Head Chef from Prospero House

Andy joined Prospero House in 2007, taking on an operation that was rapidly expanding. Using his previous knowledge of meeting and training venues, Andy set to work bringing the team up to etc.venues’ high standards.

As a member of the etc.venues food group – Andy gets together with the other venues chefs to talk about food trends, fads and ways to constantly improve our food. This is where the chefs design seasonal menus and discuss local suppliers, as well as coming up with imaginative ways to promote the etc.venues food experience.

All this means that whichever venue you visit, you can be sure that a lot of thought has gone into providing a fantastic treat for your senses.

Growing up in Weymouth, Andy started his working life bottling up in a local restaurant during the day and helping out in the kitchen during the night. He left his beloved seaside to study a City and Guilds in Catering, but feels he really learned his skills “on the job” and thinks Apprenticeships are an excellent way to get into catering.

Before moving into the meeting and training industry, he worked at the prestigious Café Royale and even worked alongside Gordon Ramsay for 6 years. Andy says of the famously pugnacious Chef that “he’s the most motivated, hard working person” he’s ever met.

Andy also admires Micheal Caines - a chef who has triumphed over adversity, raising to the top of his game after losing an arm in a car crash, and Willie Harcourt-Cooze - an eccentric entrepreneur who risked everything to start up the Venezuelan Black chocolate company.

If he had to say what his “favourite eating experience” is – it would be freshly caught Mackerel from the end of Weymouth Pier, cooked on a BBQ served with fresh bread and a cold dry Sauvignon Blanc.

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