Having grown up in a large Mediterranean family Teejay was constantly surrounded by wholesome freshy cooked food. Both Teejay’s Nonna and Great Aunt provided very early inspiration for Teejay and his love of good food which to this day he still carries their recipes with him.

In his early 20’s, Teejay decided it was time to turn his love for food into a career and begun training as a chef at the revered Westminster Kingsway College where he achieved his diploma in culinary arts. Teejay began his professional cooking career in corporate catering before moving onto restaurant kitchens, being recognised for his ability to produce top quality food as well as working well under pressure, it wasn’t a surprise he was soon snared as a hot talent by Jamie Oliver.

Teejay joined Jamie’s team where his roles included both as a Sous chef and a new restaurant openings chef, which saw him involved in the opening of many of Jamie’s new restaurants. Having spent several awesome years working for Jamie, he made the difficult decision to leave and venture out on his own setting up his first business which saw the start of ‘Cheeky Italian’, the best of Italian Street Food.

Having travelled to France on a whim in search of a vintage catering van, it was there he found an old battered Citroen H van which he brought back to the UK for restoration. Being heavily influenced by the teachings from his childhood & learning from some of the UK’s top chefs, Teejay took a simple approach to his Italian dishes and put his impressive twists on them. With this, he took to street food scene, operating at several top UK festivals and events across the country and even the world including the UAE.

As an Essex boy, Teejay always knew this would be the place to open his own restaurant and so the development of a rural farmhouse site in Waltham Abbey sounded ideal. With its rustic warehouse vibe, The Farmhouse Essex served up proper modern British food with their multiple crowd pleasing menus. With it’s completely different vibe, it soon became a popular hot spot in Waltham Abbey, frequented by many far & wide as well as many celebrities. Over the years, The Farmhouse hosted themed pop-up events, food fairs and regular private events for their clients.