Mathew Shropshall

My students know me as Chef Shropshall, and I teach on the FdA Professional Chef course. My interests lie in kitchen and larder culinary skills, culinary competition knowledge and chef leadership.

I am experienced in a range of professional contexts, including fine dining restaurants, hotels, gastro pubs, new product development, outside catering, contract catering, street food, and work as chef patron. These experiences have provided me with solid knowledge of the industry, and I enjoy linking this knowledge with employability skills and employment opportunities in the classroom.

I am most inspired by working within the catering and hospitality industry watching people undertake their learning journey, and immensely proud of being able to maintain and enhance the world-renowned reputation of University College Birmingham. I also love watching students develop and learn within the college of food. As a former student at UCB, my lecturers were an inspiration to me, and I hope to do the same with the next generation of chefs.

There is a common misconception that cooking can be easy, but the catering and hospitality industry requires focus, long hours and a commitment to be successful. It's not easy but it definitely is rewarding, so my advice to students would be: Always seek support from staff, sit down and talk over any problems with a cup of tea, and never give up!

Outside of work, I'm currently the National England Junior Team Manager and chair of the British Culinary Federation.