We recently held our first Supper Club at Talking Tables, with the hugely talented chef Omar Foster. Omar was runner up on MasterChef last year and we’re super proud of him as he used to work for us in our product development team. We spoke to him about how he followed his dream.

Tell us what you did at Talking Tables

I joined Talking Tables pretty much fresh out of university as a product development assistant on their volume accounts, eventually progressing to leading all of the international product development, particularly on the US accounts and helping grow the business over there. It was the most amazing time of my career, getting to travel and learn so much in such a short space of time! 

How did you get on MasterChef?

I had always loved the show and was one of those annoying people that sit on the sofa saying ‘that can’t be that difficult, surely’. Turns out, it really is! I was looking for more of a creative outlet and it just felt like the right time to take a leap, so I sent off the application from and after many calls and interviews, three months later I walked into that infamous kitchen and haven’t really looked back since. 

Scariest moment on it?

There were so many! Walking in on the first day felt really big and intense but the moment that really sticks out is when we cooked at the 3 Michelin star Core by Clare Smyth for our chefs table as our last challenge before the final. It was just a different level of cooking and considering I hadn’t even stepped into a professional kitchen a few months before it was just wild. 

Biggest challenge setting up your business and advice you’d give?

 I think for me it is just having the resilience and confidence to back yourself constantly – you don’t have a manager or a team around you like in a normal 9-5 job that can bolster your spirits or pat you on the back when you have done well. There has been many times I have just really had to dig deep and know I can get to where I want to be with perseverance.

What’s your favourite dish?

Oooh that’s a tough one. In the final on MasterChef for my dessert I did my version of a banana split but with parsnips instead of bananas and I feel like that dish really represents me as a chef. It didn’t win me the title but it did give me the confidence to know that when I push myself, amazing things can happen. 

How much does your creative background inspire your recipes and food styling?

The thing I love about cooking is that you start with a blank page most of the time and have the freedom to splurge whatever is in your brain onto a plate, you then finesse and tweak your idea. It’s a similar approach to every job I have worked in, whether that’s developing a napkin for Tesco or a Pokemon toy for Happy Meal! 

Did you ever think before MasterChef you would have a change of career to become a chef?

Absolutely not! Even on MasterChef it wasn’t util the end that I even considered that it could become something more than a hobby. I felt like I owed it to myself once the competition had finished to use the platform the show had given me to try something new. While it’s not always been easy, it’s never boring and always rewarding.

What’s been your proudest moment in your cheffing career so far?

Nothing makes me prouder than looking at a room of people and seeing them enjoy my food, it really always comes back to that for me. It’s a feeling I hope never gets old. 

Talking Tables is all about bringing people together around a table – how important is to you when you’re cooking for a group?

It’s a really amazing part of my job to be able to bring people together, enjoying new experiences through food and creating engaging moments. We live in such a digital world that can be really isolating so just taking a moment to sit at a table and have a conversation is so important. And it’s always better with a delicious plate of food in front of you isn’t it?

The gourmet menu for our supper club was inspired by the changing colours of the season and was delicious. It was a brilliant, fun, relaxed chatty evening and very special to host at our HQ and dress the tables with our napkins, bud vases and candle holders.

Follow Omar on instagram here.