Lukasz Doktor
OUR GOODMAN FAMILY
Meet Lukasz, our Head chef
at Goodman Mayfair
Lukasz is the Head Chef at Goodman Mayfair and has been part of the Goodman Family for 13 years (“I remember my first shift was June 1st 2010”).
When not at Goodman he likes to cycle but, with two young sons, doesn’t get much time, and can often be found at home cooking for them. “That’s no reflection on my wife,” stresses Lukasz. “After so many years in the kitchen, I just can’t watch anybody else cook.”
Like many members of the Goodman Family, Lukasz joined us from Carluccio’s. “Dave Strauss was my manager there and was always nice to me. When the opportunity came to move to Goodman, I knew many people who’d already moved, so I was working with friends.”
Working in the Goodman kitchen has also helped Lukasz develop many other skills. “Building a team is not just about cooking. There’s psychology involved, you have to find ways to get people of all different backgrounds, and different experiences and different nationalities, working together. It takes time but you want people you can rely on – and who know they can rely on you.”
Sociability, however, wasn’t the driving factor. “Goodman was a better opportunity,” explains Lukasz. “I wanted to learn, I was hungry to learn, I wanted to cook, and I knew that being around someone like John Cadieux was going to teach me more than staying at a chain.
“There were new challenges. At Goodman, we could present our food how we thought, not just be told how it should look. And every day we change the lunch menu, so you had to come up with new dishes constantly. It was a great adventure.”
Working in the Goodman kitchen has also helped Lukasz develop many other skills. “Building a team is not just about cooking. There’s psychology involved, you have to find ways to get people of all different backgrounds, and different experiences and different nationalities, working together. It takes time but you want people you can rely on – and who know they can rely on you.”
If eating at Goodman, these days Lukasz will start with the scallops (“possibly the steak tartare but almost always the scallops”) and a UK bone-in ribeye. “And chips, a salad. I worked on the sides for five years so don’t want to see mac and cheese or the spinach! Although I do like the Josper Onions… And mash.” Lukasz laughs. “I am from Poland, we like potatoes. Double potato is fine. And you can dunk your chips in the mash…”
Credits
Interview by Neil Davey
Photography by Tom Bowles