Paul Foster became interested in food from a young age. His parents were involved in the pub business with his mother running the kitchens, and she would help him to bake cakes which he sold to the pub’s bouncers.

His journey to become head chef at the Mallory Court Hotel saw him gain experience under a cross-continental array of Michelin starred chefs. After completing a catering course at Henley College Coventry, Paul worked at several restaurants around the Midlands area. Paul Foster later spent a year at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons in Oxfordshire working across several different sections, including a spell under Benoit Blin on the kitchen’s pastry section. It proved to be a formative year, giving him his first taste of working in a kitchen with a large number of chefs.

In 2006 Paul Foster won the William Heptinstall Award, a charitable scholarship which provided him with £3000 in order to undertake stages in France and America. He spent a week in L’Auberge de l’Ile, the three Michelin Star restaurant in Lyon, where he was trusted to control the pass by the end of the week. After crossing the Atlantic to New York he fulfilled his desire to undertake a stage in the technologically innovative wd~50, learning techniques such as cooking sous vide and making hot gels.

The final part of Paul Foster’s trip saw him spending six weeks at The French Laundry in California, a restaurant he had long admired for their efficient service system and sustainable approach to ingredients. Paul Foster was inspired by their ability to source quality ingredients directly from their own farm, enabling them to write the daily menu based on what was currently available.