Pragya Kabra

As Chef de Partie at Bayards Cove, I oversee daily prep operations to ensure all mise en place is completed efficiently for seamless service. My responsibilities include plating starter dishes with precision and maintaining high presentation standards. Additionally, I manage the preparation of the weekly specialty—a traditional English roast—ensuring quality and consistency for Sunday service.

Simultaneously, I worked at Blackpool Sands, the owner's beachfront restaurant, where I honed my skills in fast-paced, seasonal cooking and direct guest interaction. This dynamic experience across two distinct dining environments—a traditional fine-dining establishment a beach restaurant—allowed me to develop exceptional adaptability, precision in execution, and a deep appreciation for diverse culinary styles.

My UK culinary journey began in Surrey, where I took my first steps as a chef in the country. This formative period exposed me to diverse cuisines and fast-paced kitchen environments, building the foundation of my adaptable cooking style. The experience proved invaluable when I later brought these skills to the Cotswolds' artisanal food scene, from sourdough mastery at riverside bakeries to executing refined pub classics.

At Bakery on the Water in Burton (Cotswolds), I immersed myself in artisan bread-making, from sourdough to focaccia, while creatively pairing house-made breads with complementary ingredients. This hands-on role deepened my understanding of fermentation, texture balancing, and flavor profiling—particularly through daily experimentation with seasonal pairings for our in-house baked goods and cakes. The intimate scale of this charming bakery allowed me to refine both technical precision and creative intuition in bread craftsmansh