It is fair to say that as executive chef of Entier, Scotland’s largest independent contract catering and support services company and having just become a dad, Bruce Lawrence has a very busy schedule. In a year packed full of successes for Bruce, 29, and the team at Entier, the professional chef shares what a day in the life looks like for him.
My morning
This year has been a momentous one for Entier and no two days are ever the same which makes my job very exciting. My typical morning starts with an alarm call at 5.30am. I have a quick shower and shave and then I set off around 6am and arrive at the Entier kitchen for 6.30am.
My morning at work varies a great deal but starts with a briefing with the Entier team over coffee to talk through the key priorities and plans for the day. We discuss the daily workload and any upcoming events and functions.
Depending on the workload we will help to support the delivered service chef to prepare the lunch time buffets and during school term time I can be visiting local schools who are participating in Entier’s Apprentice award competition, Fresh Olives.
I work with the pupils in a series of set tasks and practical assignments, all of which were developed and aligned to the national school syllabus by myself. Fresh Olives marks the first rung onto a credible career path in the catering and services industry and offers three winners a three-year paid apprenticeship with the opportunity for a full-time job offer thereafter.
My lunchtime
We don’t tend to stop for lunch at the Entier kitchen, I will usually grab a quick sandwich or some soup on the go. I check my e-mails, write menus and plan the cookery workshops for the Fresh Olives.
My afternoon
Afternoons can involve a range of different things. Very occasionally it can be quiet and I have a chance to catch up on paperwork, but more than often I have apprentices coming over to the kitchen or I can be skills testing potential new recruits for our business.
Entier have a two-part interview process where recruits are given an interview and then they have a practical assessment to do which I oversee.
I may have to go to Olive House, Entier’s headquarters to attend operations or HSEQ meetings. Entier also provide outside catering within their events unit so in the afternoons I can be preparing for a dinner, barbecue or canape party or all three. That is why I think I enjoy my job so much as it is always so varied, I never know where I might end up cooking.
My evening
I usually leave Entier at 3.30pm and I get home around 4pm. I have recently become a father for the first time and it is great to get home in the evening to spend time with my baby boy, Matthew.
We have recently started going swimming so I try and do that a couple of nights a week or my partner Danielle and I will go for a walk with Matthew and our dog Alfie.
Even though I have been cooking all day, I still like to unwind by preparing dinner at home, it is a passion.
Hopefully by 8pm Matthew is bathed and fed and ready for bed so Danielle and I can get our feet up and watch television. Then it is bed by 9.30pm, not forgetting to set the alarm ready to do it all over again.