Bob builds on cooking skills at Six By Nico

Cooking runs in Bob Weston’s family and it’s in his blood. He wanted to be a head chef to follow in the footsteps of his Dad who gained a PhD in Food Science.

Bob started his cookery career as a part-time Chef de Partie (running a specific section in the kitchen) at the Foxton Locks restaurant in Leicestershire. Here, he moved on to become a Sous Chef (second in command of the kitchen) until sadly, the restaurant burnt down.

Learning cooking from across the generations

Finding himself at a pause, Bob enrolled on the Professional Cookery course Level 2 and 3 at Leicester College to sharpen up his kitchen skills.

“We had experienced lecturers who were able to teach us different cooking techniques from different generations,” says Bob.

“Leicester College provided an ideal environment for me at that time in my life. The lecturers had a lot of time for me, and saw a lot of potential in me, which made me push myself.”

Career progression with Six By Nico

Whilst at Leicester College, Bob was also working as a part-time Chef at the White Peacock restaurant in the city centre. He was due to go to Seville in Spain on a work placement with the College but unfortunately, due to lockdowns, this didn’t happen.

Following the completion of his course, Bob moved to Glasgow to work with the Six By Nico brand which runs high-end restaurants across the UK, with a 6-course tasting menu that changes every six weeks, and is inspired by a different memory, place or idea.

In his four years at Six By Nico, he’s risen from Chef de Partie to Sous Chef and on to Executive Chef. In this role, he’s been travelling around the UK and Ireland to all of the chain’s locations.

To enable him to focus more on cooking, he stepped down from his Executive Chef position and secured a job as Head Chef at the Glasgow restaurant.

Bob explains: “This was a chance to show what I’ve learnt. Despite working long days (and nights) in a ‘Michelin environment’, the different courses enable us to develop our own menus, get experimental and scientific with our cooking, trying out cool things like dried fish.

“I still get to pass on my knowledge and skills to other staff and am committed to helping Six By Nico to be more sustainable.”

Helping with Meet the Exes event

Bob recently returned to Leicester College to participate in the ‘Meet the Exes’ alumni event where current students were able to hear, first-hand, the experiences of past Hospitality and Catering students and the world of employment.

The event involved an open Q&A session, attended by around 80 students, where Bob and other former students shared insights, based on their experiences, challenges and successes in the workplace, and offered invaluable advice of what young people can expect from the hospitality industry.

Tips for new students

“If I was to pass on tips to the new generations of students, I would say to pay attention in classes, and progress with your maths and English studies as it pays dividends in the long-term and the higher up you go in hospitality, the more you will need it,” continues Bob.

“It is a tough sector to be in, but fulfilling. You need to continually work on your knife and time management skills – I have approximately eight minutes to get each meal out and can be cooking for up to 85-90 per sitting. So, as well as producing high quality food, speed is also paramount.”