St Andrews Links Blog

Danny Crossan: Seasonal to Junior Sous

Meet Danny Crossan. He’s been working in our Food and Beverage Department for 11 years now. In that time he’s worked his way up from a Seasonal Kitchen Porter to now Junior Sous. It has involved a lot of hard work and plenty of learning curves but it has all been worth it.

Being a chef, multi-tasking is a required skill and one that comes second nature to Danny, so we took full advantage. As he prepared stir fried pork fillet, garnished Caesar salads and kept the kitchen team in check we threw some questions into the mix…

How did you get into cooking/what interested you about being a chef?

“I started here at the Links as a Seasonal Kitchen Porter back in 2007. It was actually through a friend of mine that I heard about the job. From my first day working in the kitchen environment it was such a buzz – I just loved the atmosphere. I moved on to being a chef partly to become more involved in the cooking side of things but also to develop a special skill set.”

What do you enjoy most about working for the Links and your role as Junior Sous?

“The Links offers great support in pushing you on in your career, I think my progression is testament to that. No two days are the same either. With our three clubhouses there’s no monotony when working in our kitchens, every day is different. The team I work with are such a great bunch too. Yes, there’s times when it’s manic and we’re really busy but we always find time to share a laugh and a joke to help lighten the load!”

As you might imagine, keeping on top of things is no mean feat when you’ve thousands of hungry golfers and visitors on site throughout the year.

“The job is very demanding, particularly during peak season as we are now. In amongst catering for those playing our courses, we also host functions of all types and sizes as well as accommodate for many tournaments.”

What about ‘idols’ of yours, who do you look up to in the industry?

“In terms of ‘famous’ chefs, probably Marco Pierre White and Gordon Ramsay. Closer to home our very own Sharon Munro and Ian MacDonald; they’ve been great to me and been such a massive influence on my career.”

Danny and Head of Catering, Sharon Munro… not all heroes wear capes, some wear aprons! 

Finally, what advice would you give to aspiring chefs?

“Don’t be afraid to start at the bottom, you never know where you can progress to!”