It was "mental" in the Savoy Hotel, London, says chef Fergal Nugent (24). He worked in the world famous hotel for over six months in 1996.
A typical day started at 5 a.m. and continued until 11 pm. "I did enjoy it. With 90 odd chefs, you are constantly learning," he says. "The kitchen is as big as a football pitch. It was a thrilling experience." Physically "it just pounds you. On your days off you just sleep - you're afraid you won't wake up in time for work the next day."
Cheffing is "a very, very physical job", he says. "It's a tough career. Be under no illusions. It's one of the toughest careers you can choose." And yet, he wouldn't do anything else. "It has to suit your personality." Cheffing, he says, is for those who are "passionate about doing things. You can't express that in an office or a factory. It's to do with being creative, artistic. I like working with my hands."
Does he throw tantrums in the kitchen, as chefs are sometimes accused of doing? "No, you go through that phase. I used to, not any more."
Since his graduation from Athlone Institute of Technology with a certificate in professional cookery, he's worked in Adare Manor in Co Limerick, the K Club in Straffan, Co Kildare, and completed a stage in the Clarence Hotel in Dublin. He's been to the US to Johnson Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, on a three-and-a-half months' scholarship, where, he says, "it's totally different." The approach is "very business, very money-minded. Whereas we are more skill-minded. Over there, they have more managers than chefs."
As for starting off, it's not a case of being head-hunted. "To get into a top star hotel you have to sell yourself and show that you are confident." Since graduating from the two-year course in Athlone and qualifying as a chef with up to two years' work experience, Nugent has picked up a number of international awards and scholarships. On foot of winning the national apprenticeship competition in 1997, he competed in the Youth Skills Olympics in Switzerland. Here over 30 countries competed against each other. Fergal came fifth.
He studied home economics for his Leaving Cert in St Saran's Secondary School in Ferbane, Co Offaly. "I've loved food all along. My mother worked in the industry and I worked in a pub from the age of 15," he says. As part of his course in Athlone, Nugent did work experience as a commis chef in Killarney's Great Southern Hotel for six months and in Galway's Great Southern in Eyre Square the following year for a further six months.
Killarney was "a massive shock for a young fellow", he recalls, with up to 300 for breakfast, a function at lunchtime and up to 700 for dinner. His job then was washing lettuce, cutting vegetables, peeling potatoes. "It's an apprenticeship. The first couple of years, you're not allowed touch anything else." The busy city hotel in Galway's Eyre Square was a different type of hotel, but again it was a worthwhile learning experience.
At college, he says "you have to put your head down to do well". He did his project on the production, variety and packaging of cheese. He graduated with a distinction.
As his career continues, he has continued to win awards. "It's a great way of meeting top people in the industry. You are looking forward to the competition," he says. After working in the K Club as chef de parti, he decided to take a break and travel. He went to Australia for 9 months, working as a chef along the way. Now he's back home, currently working as a pastry chef in the Bridgewater Inn in Sallins, Co Kildare.
