Teejay Asciak & The Farmhouse Essex
By his early 20s, Teejay decided it was time to turn an interest into a career, training as a chef at the revered Westminster Kingsway College before being snared by Jamie Oliver as a hot talent.
Roles with Oliver as both a sous chef and new openings chef rapidly earned Teejay his industry stripes, and he moved into the world of corporate catering – and onto the water – working with Fabulous Feasts, a company based on the Silver Sturgeon boat on the Thames.
CHEEKY ITALIAN
Then it was time to become his own boss. Teejay began trading as ‘Cheeky Italian’, honing the simple-yet-impressive dishes that never fail to delight customers at street food markets and festivals – or his high-profile private and corporate clients.
The next stage? Bricks and mortar. As an Essex boy, Teejay’s home county was always where he wanted to open a restaurant, and when lease on a rural farmhouse site near the historic town of Waltham Abbey came up, it proved just too tempting.
THE FARMHOUSE ESSEX
With its crowd-pleasing menu, sharing feasts and Sunday roasts, and a shop filled with local specialities, The Farmhouse Restaurant Essex offers something for everyone – and, as a family-run enterprise, Teejay’s insistent that everyone in the family is welcome.
And there’s more in store for The Essex Farmhouse. It’ll also function as a platform for celebrating local produce and talent; putting on themed pop-up events, hosting food fairs, and putting this part of Essex firmly on the culinary map.
