“My love for food started when I went to a wedding in Italy as a young boy

My father was from Naples and it was the first time I had went abroad and the first wedding I had even been to.

It stayed in my brain because it was such a massive culture shock for a boy of 14.

Over there, it’s all about the food. The wedding would run between 9am and 3am the next morning and in that space of time you would eat 25-30 courses.

I always loved the thought of cooking but the only thing I ever enjoyed cooking was toast. My culinary skills were non-existent.

Although I ended up as a chef, I could have had a very different life as I was signed up to go in the Army as a teenager when the war in Afghanistan had started.

My mum and dad said it wasn’t a good idea but I failed the medical due to an operation on my leg and ended working in a sweet factory.

After a year-and-a-half there, I saw an advert in the paper for a trainee chef apprenticeship at the Celtic Manor Resort and decided to apply for it with my dad showing me a very basic dish.

After getting through the first interview I got to a cook-off with five professional chefs. It was a very nerve racking experience and I cooked and plated my dish within 30 minutes.

As the first one to finish I found myself waiting outside for hours chatting to the chefs involved.

They obviously had seen something in me and two weeks later I had got the position there and it was a place where I would learn so much about food.

The Celtic Manor Resort has around 10 kitchens and the rotation at that time was three months in each while doing your qualifications.

I started in the staff canteen to learn the basic of the basics before being moved to The Lodge – a very Welsh-focused restaurant at that time.

I then moved into the very old part of the hotel – The Manor House Kitchen – which was a French Bistro at the time.

I remember thinking ‘wow’ as it was a really strong, strict kitchen and a really strong team and it was the first time I ever saw and tried snails and a lot of French classics. It really opened my eyes.

I then moved onto the Olive Tree Kitchen – which ran room service for the whole of the hotel – and after a few months I was running my own ‘hot section’.

The hotel would have quite high-profile people coming in and once the head chef at the time wanted me to go up to the presidential suite where there’s a fully-furnished kitchen.

We got to cook for Sir Paul McCartney and again that was a different experience for me.

After that, I was put into the pastry kitchen making fresh bread everyday and afternoon tea cakes before spending time in other kitchens and finishing my rotation.

It was good to widen your knowledge as in each kitchen you're working under different chefs and every kitchen runs differently. You pick up so much.

My original plan was to do my training and go onto the cruise ships or to London but It didn’t work out that way.

As soon as you’re in those kitchens you enjoy it so much you don’t really want to leave as your learning so much along the way.

In a break from the Celtic Manor I worked in the Vale Hotel for a year under the chef Daniel James and it was one of the best things I did.

We cooked for a lot of sports teams, including the Welsh rugby team, and it was good to see that side of things such as the banquets.

I also spent time at the Newbridge on Usk cooking really rustic food, it was really fantastic.

We had gained two rosettes there and we made everything from scratch– from three of four different types of bread to ice creams – and the feedback we got day to day was incredible.

Towards the end of my time at the Celtic Manor I got the feeling that I should move to the next chapter and worked in a manor house in Bristol as a sous chef.

I also took a head chef role in Raglan and at the time family and friends said you should set up your own business.

I knew there was a massive shortage of chefs in the UK – which has been talked about on the news – and I would get calls asking me to work various places.

It dawned on me that setting up my own business was the right thing to do.

I started Scarpatos Catering in 2015 and now provide relief work and help clients cover or run kitchens for the day.

I also do development work on recipes and menus alongside my own dining events, pop-up events and booked events.

There are so many different aspects of it and it’s the best thing I have ever done, alongside the competitions I have taken part in.

Looking back, the Roux Scholarship was the only competition I had ever known about and wanted to apply for.

I had applied since the age of 20 unsuccessfully and on the year I was about to give up, I made it through.

The feeling when you get that call, it’s incredible. Plus reaching the semi-final and meeting Michel Roux Jnr and being in his presence.

He is an idol of mine and I feel I didn’t pick his brain enough as he was so down to earth. It was also amazing to return the following year in 2017 too.

Other contests included the final of the Kikkoman Masters, the regional heats of Masterchef: The Professionals and the San Pellegrino Young Chef.

Competition aside, I like to think I have built up a reputation as a chef especially when you go into people’s kitchens in this area.

They know a bit about you and know they're in safe hands. I have about 10 employees now and everyone is treated fair and it’s very pride-driven.

A chef is a job where you don’t stop learning and it’s definitely a rewarding industry once you have learned the basics.

It’s funny when I look back because in food technology in school I badly cut my hand when trying to pry open a tin with a knife. I nearly ended my career before it started.

As a young chef, the most important things are to keep an open mind, keep your ears open and always have a pen and a pad handy.

From a young age my dad drilled into our heads ‘if you don’t work hard you’re not going to achieve anything.'

He pushed me to apply for the Celtic Manor and has been with me the whole way during every major career decision I have made.

When I turn 50 we have agreed we’re going to open a fish and chip shop down by the seaside.

Although I don’t want to put a time limit on it, one day I would like to be in a position to have my own restaurant.

But I think the next two years will be the busiest and most vital years – both competition wise and with the business – and I need to focus on that.

I don’t know where its going to take me, but I can’t wait to see what happens.