Christopher Basten pledges to increase Craft Guild of Chefs membership
Basten, whose 33-year career has seen him rise through the chef ranks holding executive chef positions at the London Marriott Hotel County Hall and Great Fosters in Egham, Surrey, was unanimously elected to succeed Andrew Green in the position when the CGC held its AGM on Sunday.
"I see my role as bringing a sense of back to basics into the organisation, which I hope to do by delivering clear, concise instructions," Basten said following his appointment.
"One of the biggest things for me is to grow the Guild’s membership. The challenge is that, with information now so readily available on the internet, we need to be more innovative if we want to be seen as a desirable organisation to join and be part of," he admitted.
Competitions
Basten, who has been a member of the organisation since 1999, now kicks off his three-year tenure as national chairman.
The AGM also saw changes to the line-up of trustees, awards for a number of organisations and individuals and the election of Lee Maycock, chef director of culinary consulting business LBM Food Solutions, to the role of vice chair made vacant by Basten.
The chef first entered the industry in his teens after a brief stint as a bricklayer. He worked with Raymond Blanc and John Burton Race while the former was still a waiter yet to open Michelin-star restaurant Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons.
Today Basten imparts his knowledge to the leading chefs of tomorrow and encourages them to consider cooking competitions - an area he is well experienced in. The chef has competed successfully in the Culinary World Cup - three times, and the Culinary Olympics - four times
"Raising awareness of competitions is particularly important to me," Basten said. "I think they give chefs an edge and a confidence in their working life, as well as out of it. It’s not cut throat like in football, but a bit of friendly rivalry, which is what healthy competition is all about."
The Craft Guild of Chefs is currently accepting applications for its most prestigious competition - National Chef of the Year - with the application process due to close later this month.
