Celebrated Michelin starred Chef, Restaurateur and Consultant Patrick McDonald has become Food Ambassador for New College Worcester, a school for blind and visually impaired children.
Patrick’s long and notable career started as Chef de Partie at the Granby Hotel and Gosforth Park Hotel in Northumberland in 1976. Over the course of the following decade, he moved onwards and upwards from Chef de Partie to Executive Chef in renowned restaurants in London and the UK. In 1989 Patrick opened his own first restaurant, The Epicurean in the Cotswolds, which he then relocated and expanded over the next six years. He has worked with many global food retail, hotel and restaurant clients including Sir Terence Conran and Sir Rocco Forte and has been involved in the Oxo Tower Restaurant, Les Saveurs in Mayfair and the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh, Harvey Nichols, The Eden Project, Selfridges and Park Plaza Hotels to name but a few. He has been responsible for training many chefs and caterers who in their own right have since become successful and is currently working with Green Cow Kitchens in Whitbourne to develop their skills and menus.
 
Patrick’s accolades include four AA Rosettes, two Michelin Stars and in 2007 he was made a Fellow of the Royal Arts Society [FRSA]. He has also made numerous television appearances including ITV’s This Morning, the BBC’s Masterchef, and Channel 4’s Light Lunch, as well as having his own six part TV series If You Can’t Stand The Heat on Channel 4. He has cooked privately for a number of celebrities and members of the royal family including Madonna, Prince, Sheik Mohammed of Dubai, Sultan of Brunei, HRH Prince of Wales and the late Princess Diana.
 
Rugby is one of Patrick’s personal passions - he set up the Hospitality Catering Business for the Worcester Rugby Football Club South Stand, establishing it as an independent business and he is now responsible for travelling and cooking for the England Senior Rugby Team both overseas, during camps and all pre-match meals.
 
Visiting New College Worcester and meeting some of the blind children, Patrick said, “I am very excited about working with the children, and helping them learn how to really appreciate food. I will also be learning, about how people who are blind and visually impaired can access their cooking.”  Patrick’s philosophy on food is that simple food can still taste phenomenal and that it is imperative to taste the dishes and trust instinct to add flavour and inspiration throughout the cooking process.
In the role of Food Ambassador Patrick will be working with the students on tips for how they can get better grades for exam practical work and how to truly appreciate the taste of good food, as well as helping to raise the profile of the College and get involved with fundraising events.