Smiles @ The Farm: Ross Grindlay | The Kitchen King
It all started with making soup in exchange for a back massage for his partner.
That is how Ross Grindlay, 27, recalls the quirky, pivotal moment that led him on his journey towards helming The Farm’s kitchen as Catering Manager.
“It was so random. Everyone loved (the soup) so much and I enjoyed doing it. So I started making a couple meals because I really like the whole process,” he explains.
Eventually, his increasing involvement in the kitchen culminated in cooking for the March 2020 yoga teacher training, right before the first COVID-19 lockdown. From there, Ross gained a deeper understanding of how to cook and plate food, a familiar feeling as it was a big part of his previous job as a restaurant manager.
This son of Leeds and Dubai proudly proclaims hospitality as his “thing” despite not initially having intentions to grow roots in the field. Just as his trajectory in The Farm was catapulted incidentally, his work in restaurants and hospitality stemmed from having fumbled a module in his second year of university.
“I didn’t know I had messed it up. I tried to look at my timetable but there was none, so I had to resit the module in the second semester for the next year. During that time I got a job for a restaurant in Leeds and worked throughout university. When I graduated, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue doing business,” Ross recalls his dilemma.
Feeling stuck in a limbo between the practical need for pay and the desire to find a purpose, he capitalised on a job opportunity from his previous boss. He was “sucked back into it”, eventually rising from cocktail bartending and front of house to the position of restaurant manager.
“I was really exposed to the food. I liaised with the chefs and came up with wine pairings so I really had to understand the ingredients. Also as a cocktail bartender, you’ve got a background of about 500 bottles. You have to know what’s in each one, when to use it and really develop a palette of understanding flavour combinations,” Ross says of his time turning the cogs in the restaurant engine.
This in-depth knowledge of flavour profiles put him in good stead cooking for his partner, Chloe Wood, the General Manager of The Farm (stay tuned for her story coming soon!)
“She doesn’t cook so I started making different breakfasts to impress her. I thought if I fed her well, she’ll probably stay with me and can’t run away,” Ross says with a laugh.
Despite a huge motivator being the sense of fulfilment from seeing someone’s positive reaction eating his food, he admits that there are days - though few and far in between - when he struggles to cook up a storm. It is easy to see how cooking for a community of at least 30 people, two to three times a day, seven days a week, would eventually take a toll on even the most inspired chefs.
However, Ross cites the unending energy from his fellow chefs and the entire The Farm family as a vital part in kicking his motivation back into gear.
“You can’t really get uninspired here. Being surrounded by so many people doing so many different things, you’re also playing your part in this community. One good thing is I’m almost always cooking with other people. It’s really important to get a good vibe in the kitchen because people can lend you their energy and bring you up.
“The food might not be as good as the day before but I feel like I owe it to everyone to give my best everytime. And that’s the thing about cooking; it takes you four hours to cook a meal but you eat your plate in five minutes. So you have to enjoy the process,” he explains.
Ross and his team propel this process forward by having “what if” conversations. Ultimately, their aim is always to make the most of the ingredients at their disposal.
“We meet 20 minutes before we’re due to start and ask each other things like, “Do you think you can do this?” That always opens up so many doors. A lot of the time, there’s something we’ve never made before,” he says.
At The Farm, almost all the cooking is plant-based as sustainability is a key pillar in our ethos. However, choosing to prioritise compassion for the environment over convenience in personal choice does come with its share of hurdles. Ross reveals that one challenge of going plant-based is the potential to repeat ingredients and dishes.
This is particularly so for a physically-demanding activity like yoga, where protein-rich ingredients are vital. However, the options are relatively limited to legume-based foods like tofu, tempeh and black beans. This presents another rather humorous challenge that Ross’ team initially overlooked - the biological need to pass gas.
“(Past student-teachers) told us that they were farting loads, so we know this time not to overload them with beans. Can you imagine a studio of 20 people holding stretches and farting?” Ross says with a chuckle.
It is a universal consensus that facing and overcoming challenges builds character and leadership qualities, and this British-Nigerian lover of good food plans to step his game up as The Farm’s Catering Manager. With the amount of events - namely yoga teacher training and catered school camps - set to increase, Ross is eager to tackle all that comes his way, particularly the managerial side of the kitchen.
Arguably though, the pièce de résistance of Ross’ goal is The Farm’s plant-based cookbook - a tangible, lasting legacy of his experiences in the kitchen. It will come from his heart (and tummy) straight into readers’, far and wide.
“It’s full of recipes that I’ve followed but didn’t work so I tweaked it or combined two together to make something completely different. I’m really excited for that,” he says with a smile.
Once completed, the plan is to sell the cookbook at The Farm’s Eco Shop, which embodies our mission of practicing and promoting sustainable ways of living.
As a sneak preview, Ross is keen to share a Farm favourite recipe - homemade vegan bread, which includes a gluten-free option. Keen to make a fresh batch in your own kitchen? Follow us on our socials - Instagram and Facebook - to keep a close eye on this recipe, coming very soon!
Written and photographed by Anisa Abdullah