Q&A with Campion Hall Chef Manager, Keir Meikle

Can you describe your journey to becoming a Chef?

I started in a bakery, aged 13, helping out the bakers. I have a clear memory of a particular day when the bakery was absolutely slammed with orders and I was running around, restocking and making all manner of things. I was buzzing and my boss (who had previously been a chef) said “this is what it feels like to be a chef, every day”. And that was that. I left the bakery to become a chef and within 6 months, aged 15, I took on a role in a small restaurant (luckily a very good one). As time went on, I was handed over to other chefs. It seemed like quite a natural journey. From early on, my restaurant experience was diverse and ranged from a small French Deli to The Chelmsford and then The Savoy. 

Yes, I find working in a kitchen addictive. Yes, it can be high pressure and it is widely known that chefs deal with stress but I think I thrive on this. These days there is much more awareness and support around wellbeing but yes, it can still be a pressurised environment.

Why did you decide to work at Campion Hall? 

Before Campion Hall, I was at Blenheim Palace. I was Head Chef there and ended up attending a lot of meetings and feeling part of the community. I began to feel ready for a change though and at that time, Kevin (former Chef Manager at Campion Hall) was looking for a chef so I came and worked here on a part time basis. The food was a lot more basic then than it is now. It was a good standard though and we were serving straightforward meals like shepherd’s pie for dinners. My role at Campion Hall slowly evolved into what it has now become. I wrote menus and covered the functions and feel thankful for the growth I have experienced here. 

How did it feel working at the Hall during the Covid pandemic? 

When Covid hit, I had only been here a few months. There were around 15 people living in at Campion Hall then and Kevin had only been in post a few weeks. During this time, the request from the community was for dinners to become more of an ‘event’. People were stuck in their rooms, couldn’t mix and the only time they were leaving their rooms was for dinner. I got the sense that residents valued communal time, within their covid bubbles, and they cherished the conversations shared over meals and BBQs whilst sitting under the gazebo in the garden. The atmosphere was lovely; very genteel with a strong sense of community. I feel the standard of the food elevated at this point as people placed a lot of importance on mealtimes and I sensed the community wanted something a bit different. 

What do you like about working at Campion Hall?

I think at Campion Hall we are encouraged to have the freedom to do what we want, which is lovely. An example is that today I am able to offer the community delicious venison burgers which are a bi-product of another meal, where we bought the whole animal which I butchered into a variety of cuts. This means I can be thrifty and creative, and working like this allows me to spend more of my budget on other meals. 

I also appreciate the freedom to choose my own suppliers, this is very important to me and I like to support good, local businesses. 

 

Do you have any plans for the kitchen?

I would like to get to the stage where I am making everything here, through to cooking our own hams, curing meats, making our own ice creams and sorbets, preserves, chutneys. I would like to 'wall off' a small room down here to become a larder where I can store pickles, chutneys, preserves etc. 

What are your signature dishes and specialities?

Fish. My first restaurant was a fish restaurant. Within 18 months I was the Fish Chef at The Savoy. I worked in a fish restaurant for several years and had my own fish restaurant in Cornwall for 10 years. 

Can you detail a favourite technique you have mastered? 

It is lovely buying a whole fish in, filleting it into lots of different cuts, making a fish stock and using every single element. I am always pleased when I can use every single part of a fish or an animal. I did the same with the venison in December; buying the whole animals and breaking them down. From a sustainability point of view, I like the idea of working with venison. We’ve got so much local venison available; it is wild but there are people who look after their land and they consider the venison around their area to be their ‘own herd’, if you like, and they cull them intelligently so that the venison is not over-culled nor farmed; it is a wild product that is being managed. 

How do you reduce food waste?

As you walked into the kitchen today, you will have noticed a piece of beef, which was originally purchased as beef brisket for pies last week, but we had surplus meat. I have cured this beef for a few days and tomorrow we will make it into a salt beef or pastrami, I haven’t decided yet. The only difference between them is that one will have a bark on it and be smoked and one will be boiled, but for a piece of beef that size, you cure it for four to five days first. This meat will then be served at buffets and be used in different ways. I like to work in this way, never wasting any ingredient. 

 

How can the Hall community support your mission to reduce food waste?

We need people to let us know when they will or won’t be in Hall to eat as this really helps to reduce food waste. Of course, we will never get it exactly right as how many vegetables, salad or soup people eat will depend on how they feel that day but knowing the numbers of diners in advance really helps us. Please always complete the meal booking form in advance!

How do you stay current with culinary trends?

I eat out at good restaurants and read stuff in the press and am on mailing lists for The Caterer and The Morning Advertiser where I regularly read their newsletters. Also, I am in touch with many suppliers including Nettlebed Creamery where I visited in November and sourced special cheeses for the Georgetown dinner in December. We are planning more collaborations. 

A Day in the life as Keir the Campion Hall Chef Manager?

We usually start between 6.30am and 7am and we finish when we finish, which might be 10pm if there is an event on. When we have a third Chef in, this will help me to concentrate more on functions. I feel that at Campion Hall, I need and want to be visible to the community. I think it is important for the chef to be present at the hot plate, at lunch times. It is nice to see the community and say hello but also I feel it is important I am there, as sometimes there are questions about the food and allergens. In essence, I see myself as a host looking after people.