Mark Devonshire Chef Lecturer Profile

After having spent over a decade working for Rick Stein at the Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, Mark took on the role as senior tutor at the Padstow Seafood School, further developing his teaching and management skills. He took these to the next level when he set up a cookery school in Worcester on a working farm at Eckington Manor; however, after working away for a time, the pull of Cornwall became too much and Mark returned to join the chef lecturing team at Cornwall College.

Family, food and the countryside are Mark's priorities and passions. In his spare time, he loves to forage for seasonal wild foods with his children and dog.

"I am a true Cornishman and very proud to be as Cornwall has so much to offer. I have been involved with food all my working life and really enjoy my career within the hospitality industry." As for lecturing at Cornwall College, Mark states: 

Teaching students is a whole new world; the learners at Cornwall College are so keen to learn new ideas and develop new skills. I now oversee and coordinate the NVQ level 2 and 3 cookery programmes, working with students every day in our training kitchens, developing recipes and teaching them how to scale up their ideas and make them profitable in a working restaurant. 

Most weekends I am back in the front line of the hospitality industry, out and about with other chefs, be it a wedding or a cookery class or a dinner party either cooking or running front of house. Although it makes for a busy life, this practice is invaluable in keeping myself and my students one step ahead of the game. 

Mark recently appeared on the BBC's 'Chefs on Trial' series as a judge alongside Alex Polizzi. "Working with Alex," Mark says, "was a huge inspiration to me as she knew how to get the best from me and others around her. The television programme was a big hit and highlighted just how hard it is to find a quality head chef and the importance of having the correct staff."

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