How I Got Here: Will Torrent

By Joe Lutrario

- Last updated on GMT

Photo credit: Tom Price/Tearfund
Photo credit: Tom Price/Tearfund

Related tags Chef

Chocolate expert Will Torrent, who has previously worked with the likes of Heston Blumenthal and James Martin, is a consultant pastry chef to Waitrose and ambassador for Christian charity Tearfund.

Why chocolate?
It’s the greatest ingredient on the planet!  I always enjoyed it from a very early age and then when I learnt more about it through my training, it became a love affair.

Tell us something you wish you had been told at the start of your career?
Ask more questions! In the last few years, as I’ve dived deeper into the world of chocolate, I’ve understood the benefit of having a broad outlook and appreciation of food in general and the social and economic factors that are at play in the world of food.  This is why I’ve become passionate about supporting cocoa farmers in many different ways.

What do you do in your spare time?
How long have you got?  As well as sitting on the board of the Academy of Chocolate and judging awards for them and others such as the World Marmalade Awards and the Great Taste Awards to name a few, I help run a local theatre company and am one of the leaders of my church. If there’s any time left over, my wife and I tend to binge-watch box sets on Netflix.

What’s your favourite restaurant or group of restaurants?
I don’t think I could ever choose just one.  The Fat Duck in Bray will always have a special place in my heart because it’s where I spent my first week in a professional kitchen. However The Waterside Inn, also in Bray, was where my wife and I stayed on our wedding night and enjoyed our first lunch together as a married couple.

What would you be doing if you weren’t a chocolate expert?
An actor - having grown up treading the boards and loving theatre, film and television.  If they ever need a chef in Star Trek I’d be the first one to man the galley, but I wouldn’t say no to an Aston Martin and a Martini… or turn the Tardis down either.

What motivates you?
Trying to make a difference - whether that’s mentoring young chefs, championing artisan producers or supporting cocoa farmers: it’s all about encouraging others to unlock their full potential.  This is something I saw international development agency Tearfund​ doing first hand when I travelled to Ivory Coast with them and saw how they helped farmers lift themselves out of poverty.

Where was your last holiday?
I’ve recently come back from a working holiday with Silversea on board the Silver Cloud, travelling from Lisbon to Amsterdam and visiting some amazing markets in France and Spain along the way.  But my last proper holiday was visiting friends in Chicago last Autumn with my wife, Francesca.

Which colleague, mentor or employer has had the biggest influence on your approach to business?
I remember Heston [Blumenthal] telling me to question everything and to think outside the box - this has always spurred me on in my career.   Yolande Stanley MCA spotted some potential in me whilst I was training at the University of West London, and took me under her wing quite early on in my career, pushing and training me for the WorldSkills competition in 2007.  Not only was she a great mentor but she’s become a great friend too.

What keeps you up at night?
Apart from my wife hogging the duvet, I find that because I juggle so many varied projects, both inside and outside the industry, I sometimes worry about dropping the ball on one of them, and the consequences that may bring.

Worst business decision?
I’ve always believed there’s an opportunity to grow even if you come in second place - in fact you might learn a bit more!

Best business decision?
Keep your eyes open for good opportunities and grab them!  I met a cocoa farmer called Koffi in Ivory Coast when I visited with Tearfund and he summed this up for me: ‘“We didn’t understand the gold we were sitting on,’ he said ‘we didn’t understand this amazing product in cocoa, we didn't understand how to harvest it and how to farm it and through the [Tearfund] training my eyes have been opened to this amazing product!’  I’ve always tried to take a good opportunity with both hands and run with it, such as a chance meeting with a Waitrose director 8 years ago which led to my now being one of their consultant chefs.

What are you reading at the moment?
I’m not a huge reader but I’m a lover of music and I’m really getting stuck into podcasts as well.

What piece of advice would you give to those looking to climb the rungs in the catering business?
Keep pushing forward, don’t look back and do it with a smile!

If you could change one thing about the catering industry today, what would it be?
I think we need to understand that things have moved on.  Younger chefs, much like the England football team since Gareth Southgate took over, respond far better to encouragement, friendship and support than to a culture of criticism and fear.

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