Philip Gorman

(Menu Development)

My role as a Menu Development Chef for ramore involved;

• Researching culinary trends
• Developing new dishes and menus
• Testing and refining existing dishes and menus
• Collaborating with the head chefs of each restaurant in the complex, helping them to produce special dishes and menus.
• Responsible for the design of menus including allergen information etc.

(Procurement Manager)

Working as the procurement manager within the company involved;

• Liaising with current suppliers to ensure the company was receiving the highest quality products at the best prices.
• Sourcing new products and building relationships with new suppliers
• Ensuring the quality and consistency of products
• Negotiating contracts and working agreements with suppliers
• Controlling Food Costs and Managing Inventory.

(Executive Pastry Chef)

Due to a restructuring of the business i was also asked to take on a role within the In house pastry kitchen. My role involved;

• Overseeing the pastry department within the complex (6 restaurants)
• Creating and developing dishes and menus
• Maintaining the high quality standards across all the pastry in each of the 6 restaurants
• Leading and managing a team of pastry chefs
• Ensuring food safety and sanitation standards were kept high.
• Training staff

In 2021 I took the opportunity to branch out and open my own business, The Village Kitchen, Castlerock. The Business started as a small local takeaway serving freshly cooked and locally sourced street food.

After a successful summer I decided to expand the business to expand the business to include a Sit in cafe/restaurant. The cafe served breakfast and brunch, a selection of hot and cold items.

at the weekends in the off season and all week during the summer season we then operated a restaurant in the evenings.

As the business owner i was responsible for all aspects of the business including but not limited to;

• All aspects of the Food Production - sourcing of ingredients, menus, haccap, pricing.
• Marketing and Promotion - Dealing with the booking system, social media channels, promtional activities etc.
• Financial Management - All aspects of the running of the business, Day to day costs, staff wages, tax and Vat submissions etc.
• Staff Management and Training - Ensuring staff and well trained in both customer service and food safety.

in September 2023 I closed the business after my father was diagnosed with a terminal illness, as I wanted to spend the remaining time I had with him and running your own business doesn't allow for much free time.

My First employment with Ramore saw me start as a young chef working part time while studying at school, then working there during school holidays etc in a full time capacity.

During my 17 years I worked my way up from a service chef, working across all of the kitchens in the complex, to becoming the head chef when they originally opened the Mermaid Kitchen and Bar and later the Basalt when it was opened in 2019 as the latest addition serving 'small plates from around the world'

Alongside these roles as head chef in service kitchens i was promoted to executive chef of the company in 2015 and was responsible for the day to day running of the complex and direct manager of the entire back of house team, number 120-150 chefs of all descriptions at its peak.