Holly Middleton Joseph
Holly Middleton Joseph is an experienced chef working in various venues in South East London, including Frank’s, The Camberwell Arms and now Mike’s.
Holly talks to QFAB about dramatically ditching her first kitchen job, starting out as a chef, the freshest crab she’s ever eaten, and why you need to ‘back yourself’. She is soon to be the Head Chef of Catering by The Camberwell Arms. She is a ridiculously talented chef and she is always cooking up a storm on her Instagram @hollymjblahh
Introduce yourself…
My name is Holly Middleton Joseph aka @hollymjblahh. I identify as queer and use she/her pronouns. I've been a chef for about five years, I started as an apprentice at Frank's Cafe rooftop bar in Peckham, and then went to The Camberwell Arms and trained in house. I've worked in many of our restaurants since then, just doing little bits of helping out here and there and catering.
So where are you based? Where have you lived and worked?
Mainly based in Peckham and Camberwell for pretty much my whole of London life. I also cooked Cambodia and Australia when I was travelling out there.
“The best thing is having a family away from home, you create a special bond when you’re going down in service, the sweat, burns from hot tray and bubbling fat when you go through that week in and out you really solidify great friends and family!”
What does your average day look like?
Average day is getting to work at 7:45am, always gonna do a double shift, because you get more money, work until about 10/11pm. We never sit down for lunch which I find really annoying. It's as if having food is like a sign of weakness. Just working with the boys in the kitchen really, do double and then just rinse and repeat. It's quite hectic.
How did you get to where you are?
So I started out by just cooking at home and taking pictures of food. My housemate, who was the manager of Frank's rooftop bar in Peckham at the time, told me that the chefs were looking for an apprentice and they didn't need to have any experience. So I went for an interview at the Camberwell Arms with Matty Taiano (now co-owner of Gabagools). I was really scared. It was my first interview about something that I actually cared about, so I was shitting myself, and I think I spoke about salads for about 15 minutes! So that's how that started.
So I worked at Frank’s for the summer. And then Michael Davies (owner and Executive Head Chef at The Camberwell Arms) sat me down at the end of the summer and was like, ‘I think there's some potential chef work at The Camberwell Arms and I'll teach you everything I know’. That was the sales pitch. I said yes straight away.
“when I was living out in Cambodia and we were on an island and I ordered some crab fried rice and just sat on the beach chilling. So then this dude just goes off into the ocean, opens this cage in the ocean, picks out my crab, then less than 20 minutes later there was my rice - it was just so peng!”
What was your earliest experience in the industry?
I was a KP (Kitchen Porter) at Pizza Express when I was 17. I quit on New Year's Eve. It was a new restaurant and the plates were stacking up real high, no-one was helping me. I was going down hard. I just shut the machine off and just fucked them all off, got on the train to Brighton and went to a house party!
What has been your experience of being queer in this industry?
So when I was living in Australia, up in Cairnes, in North Queensland, I worked at this new restaurant that just opened on Marina called Oli's Italian. There was only one Italian guy that worked with us and he was a fucking cunt! Basically, when he found out that I was like gay/bi he would always like point out women to me and was like, ‘Oh, don't you want them to sit on your face?’ He then was like, 'You should get your girlfriend to come here, we can have a threesome!’ and I was just like, ‘Are you for real?!’ I just thought it was just insane that as soon as he found out that little part of me, he thought he could talk to me like that. It's just actually disgusting!
“it can be an underpaid career, often chefs don’t necessarily get paid what they deserve especially with the amount of talent that’s out there! ”
What's the best lesson someone else has taught you in your years in the food and drink industry?
I've worked alongside Vicki for years (Head of operations at The Camberwell Arms). There's one thing that she said to me when I first met her, she told me ‘back yourself, know your worth!’ Sometimes she fought the people stepping over me and she helped to teach me to back myself too.
What's the best meal you've ever had? What was it who was it with? Where was it?
One that comes to mind is when I was living out in Cambodia and we were on an island and I ordered some crab fried rice and just sat on the beach chilling. So then this dude just goes off into the ocean, opens this cage in the ocean, picks out my crab, then less than 20 minutes later there was my rice - it was just so peng! He even put little potatoes that were cut in star shapes in my rice. It was delicious and fresh!
What is your trashy food pleasure?
Super crispy hash browns. And I've got so much time for crisps, I like all crisps!
What are the best and worst things about the industry?
The worst thing (as a chef) is not eating properly throughout the whole day, it's silly really. Pulling double after double and barely eating because no one else in the kitchen is, it's backwards - we need food to fuel ourselves, it's simple! But it's so weird isn't it. Another thing, it can be an underpaid career, often chefs don't necessarily get paid what they deserve especially with the amount of talent that's out there! This is something I didn't really think about too much until my girlfriend who works in the corporate world was shocked by how much the industry pays for such a stressful and highly-skilled job! I’m in a lucky position now but the majority of people in the industry are still underpaid.
The best thing is having a family away from home, you create a special bond when you're going down in service, the sweat, burns from hot tray and bubbling fat when you go through that week in and out you really solidify great friends and family! The fact that I can take my job anywhere around the world with me - that's dope!
What are your top three places to eat and drink?
Kiln - A restaurant with Northern Thai inspired BBQ in Soho, London, with a focus on seafood and claypot cooking - fucking really great food, amzing service and great value for money! The minced ox heart dish is my favourite
Theo's - Iconic pizza restaurant in Camberwell. The TIRAMISU, enough said really!
Favourite bangers to play in the kitchen?
Oh my god, I got a whole playlist of bangers but if I had to choose one: Return of the Mack - Mark Morrison
What advice would you give to your younger baby queer self?
To have been a bit more brave at the beginning, to be honest. I was just very scared and I cared a lot about what people thought. But at the end of the day, no one actually really cared. So I should have just been a bit more open to it.
Do you feel it is important for the LGBTQ plus community within the food and beverage industry to have a network? And if so why?
Yes. 100% because there's not really one is there? I don't know why there's not one already! It can be such a great place for people to speak but also as a safe space.
What's next for you? What is next for you?
Getting back to cooking and becoming Head Chef of events at The Camberwell Arms.
