Hi! My Name Is Christopher Strassheim or Chris for short. I am very excited to be joining the Hub International team. My chef journey and love of food started around 16 years ago. I would watch cookery shows with my gran and make plenty of mess experimenting with dishes around her kitchen, constantly getting in her way. She was my champion, always trying to push me in the right career direction.
One of my first memories is of my grandparents dropping me off at Glenskirlie House & Castle and shooing me in the kitchen door to ask my former head Chef Daryl Jordan for a job as a chef. So, I went in and said to the chef, “let me work for you for free and after a week, if you like me give me a job” well the rest was history. I got the job under the mentor of Daryl and many other great chefs. I learned the craft, from classic French cooking techniques, sauce making, butchery of whole wild venison, plucking pigeons, filleting fish and cooking with all sorts of wonderful ingredients from Scotland’s larder. He would even order in unusual things like snails just so I could learn to prepare them.
My goal was to experience as much as I could in the best places I could. I loved learning and soaking up as much as I could along the way, filling my head with new ideas. My inspiration came from reading amazing books written by chefs like Rene Redzepi – Noma, Peter Gilmore -Quay, David Kinch – Manresa to name a few. In fact, I remember opening the likes of these books and being wowed by what could be created with food, where it came from in nature and the sheer artistic imagination required to create these types of dishes.
In the following years I spent some time at Gleneagles Hotel and Number One at The Balmoral, I also took on stages where I could and applied for every competition I could to hone my skills. This included the Scottish Culinary Championships Scothot where I was shortlisted for the Young Scottish Chef of the year CIS Excellence Award. Eventually this would lead to starting up a private chef business with my friend Jesse. This new adventure took me to all different parts of Scotland, the borders and the highlands cooking in quaint little houses by lochs and grand estates. I got the opportunity to cook with Scotland’s best ingredients like Tarbert Landed Langoustines, vegetables from the estate gardens and locally sourced venison. Along the way I got to meet some fantastic and truly interesting people. One person the springs to mind was the late Paul Kitching from 21212, his kind words and the way he took great joy from teaching others was Inspirational.
Now in my career, I am ready to step away from my current role as head chef at Friend of Mine and move onto teaching with Hub International. I look forward to sharing these same great experiences I have had in my time in the Hospitality Industry. This industry has brought me so much joy and I believe that every single person should get the same opportunity and the best start possible. It is my hope that others enjoy what this industry has to offer and the life experiences and skills you will earn along the way.
My career has now come full circle, my first head chef Daryl now teaches students and now it is my turn to share my knowledge, love of food and passion. The cookery books I once read at a young age have become life experiences. Now 15years later, I went to dine in Noma in Copenhagen, I saw those beautifully imagined dishes served before me. It was truly a humbling moment. This is what first inspired me to work my way into kitchens. This industry has helped me travel around Scotland cooking in some breath-taking venues that I’ll never forget and has given me treasured memories along the way. I can’t wait to step into my role at Hub International and help the next generation of Hospitality professionals find their passion!



















