Nation.Cymru Staff
A chef who honed his skills at the world famous luxury Savoy Hotel in London is bringing a touch of fine dining to school meals in Wales.
Danny Wild, who has cooked for celebrities including Sir Alex Ferguson, Gordon Ramsey, Bear Grylls and Spice Girl Mel B during his time at the prestigious hotel, is now winning over pupils at St David’s College in Llandudno with his high quality haute cuisine.
The 45-year-old head chef from Rhos on Sea has also worked alongside the late culinary legend Albert Roux.
He is now part of a 12-strong catering team at the independent day and boarding school, led by manager Will Jones, whose experience includes working at the five star Chester Grosvenor Hotel.
Danny has worked at St David’s College for five years, having previously served as a commis chef at The Savoy where he cut his teeth catering for an international clientele of celebrities, dignitaries and royalty.
The pupils now have meals like shin of beef with red wine, salmon teriyaki, along with biryani and korma curries on the menu.
Danny, who trained at Llandrillo College, said: “I came for the interview and was taken around the kitchen and I just thought ‘wow, they do proper cooking here’.
“You have an image of school meals and you think they just buy stuff in, but that doesn’t happen here.
“The ingredients are sourced locally, the preparation and cooking is of the highest standard, everything is freshly cooked, everything is homemade.
“I have the same dedication of delivering delicious, nutritious food here as I had at The Savoy, the expertise and the commitment to the job is exactly the same.
“Everything we serve is nutritious and we encourage the students to try new things and introduce themselves to new tastes.
“They surprise you in the end, they will try anything and some become real foodies, it’s great to see.
“The most popular dishes include our curries, we do a curry day and that always goes down well, we will do a biryani or a korma.
“Salmon is really popular too, such as a salmon teriyaki, and fish dishes go down a treat, especially the seafood gratin.
“Back in the day school dinners had a terrible reputation, but what we do here is a thousand miles away from that.
“I think I probably had chips, beans and cheese most days at school, with the dessert being a blancmange or a rice pudding.
“It is a different type of school here, we take huge pride in what we do and where we get our produce.
“We use local butchers, local fishmongers, local fruit and veg guys.”
Among the local businesses the school uses are Mermaid Seafood at Llandudno and Llechwedd Meats, while Harlech Foodservice and Castell Howell also serve St David’s College.
The school spends around £1.5 million a year with suppliers and contractors from the area and overall pumps £7 million on Conwy’s economy every year while supporting 213 jobs.
Danny added: “Getting the produce locally is more convenient, its fresher, its price competitive.
“I have grown up here and lived here all my life so I know local produce around here is excellent.”
Danny’s enthusiasm for fine dining and using local produce was echoed by catering manager Will Jones, 48.
The father of two started as a demi-chef de partie at Chester Grosvenor before going on to run the hotel’s brasserie.
During his time there he catered for private lunches and dinners for the late 6th Duke of Westminster at the duke’s home at Upton near Chester.
Will, from Colwyn Bay, said: “We would go to his house at Eccleston, which was massive, and the grounds were huge, although all the guests were kept hush-hush.
“The same level of detail we had for the duke and that striving for excellence is exactly the same level of detail that we have here at St David’s College.
“We make our own pies, chicken dishes, curries and quiches, and all the desserts and fresh bread is homemade, and we have four or five different homemade salads on the salad bar.
“We do shin of beef with red wine and smoked bacon, or we will do porchetta where we get the whole pork belly, fennel, lemon, roll it up and slow cook it in the oven overnight.
“We have a great team here, we all work well together, and we also know the students well, and their parents.”
The catering team’s food goes down a treat with the students according to Year 6 pupil Martha Gunn.
Ten-year-old Martha, a boarder, said: “I love the food here, especially when we have fish and chips, and I really enjoy the pasta dishes too, there is a big selection.”
Year 6 pupil Alastair Preston-Marriott also gave the food the thumbs-up.
The 10-year-old day pupil said: “The food is great, there is a big variety, and I really like things like the vegetarian lasagne.
“I really like the Chinese food as well, especially the sweet and sour chicken.”
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