06/10/2026
🍽️ SOMETHING’S BEEN COOKING BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE OAK… 👀👨🍳
And we don’t just mean your dinner. 😂
There have been some changes happening in The Hollington Oak kitchen recently, and we’ve been busy putting together the team who’ll be behind the food coming out of it.
Now it’s time you met them. ❤️
Between them, we’ve got more than 17 years of kitchen experience, a newly qualified chef beginning his full-time career, and a familiar Oak team member discovering that she’s pretty handy on the other side of the pass too!
It’s a real mixture of experience, fresh talent and people at different stages of their hospitality careers — which is exactly what makes this team so exciting for us.
So, who are the people cooking your lunches, burgers and Sunday roasts?
Meet our Back of House team… 🖤🌳
👨🍳 FIRST UP, JAMES
If experience is what you want in a busy pub kitchen, James brings plenty of it.
He joins The Hollington Oak after spending over 10 years as Kitchen Manager at Yates. Busy services, packed kitchens and those moments when everything seems to happen at once? He’s been there, done it and knows exactly how to handle it.
That knowledge and experience is going to be hugely valuable as we continue moving our kitchen forward, and we’re incredibly excited to have him as part of the team.
Welcome to the Oak, James! 🖤
👩🍳 NEXT UP, DANA
Another seven years of kitchen experience joins the team!
Dana comes to us from another local pub, where she has spent over seven years as a cook, so she certainly isn’t a stranger to life behind the stove.
She brings plenty of experience, a love of pub food and, crucially, an understanding that a kitchen can go from suspiciously peaceful to absolute chaos in approximately 30 seconds. 😂
We’re looking forward to seeing Dana settle in and become part of our slightly bonkers Oak family.
Welcome, Dana! 💛
👨🍳 THEN THERE’S JAXX
College finished. Qualification earned. Now it’s time to turn it into a career. 👨🍳
Jaxx hasn’t waited until qualifying to get experience in a professional kitchen. Alongside his college studies, he’s already worked at both The White Rock and Porters, putting what he was learning into practice and getting a real taste of the industry.
Now he’s officially qualified, he’s chosen The Hollington Oak as the place to begin his full-time career as a chef — and we’re absolutely delighted he has. ❤️
He’s keen to learn, determined to work hard and ready to build on everything he’s picked up through college and the kitchens he’s already worked in.
There’s a particularly lovely motivation behind it all too. Jaxx wants to build a career he can be proud of and, importantly, make his dad proud along the way. 🥹❤️
We’re looking forward to seeing him develop as a qualified chef and discovering just how far he can take it.
Qualification complete. Full-time career begins. We’re glad you’ve chosen the Oak, Jaxx! 👨🍳🖤
👩🍳 AND THEN THERE’S LACEY…
You might already recognise this one!
Lacey has been part of The Hollington Oak family for over a year, but recently she decided to challenge herself and try something completely different.
She’s started college studying Hospitality and has stepped into the kitchen — and she is absolutely shining. ✨
Watching her confidence grow and seeing her discover another side of the industry has been brilliant. We’re excited to support her as she learns, develops and works out just how far she wants to take it.
Same Lacey. New skills. Big future. 💛
🍽️ AND THAT’S THE TEAM BEHIND THE FOOD!
More than a decade of kitchen management experience from James, another seven years behind the stove from Dana, Jaxx starting his full-time career as a qualified chef and Lacey building a whole new set of hospitality skills.
Four people bringing very different experience to the same kitchen.
They’re already getting stuck in, learning how each other works and, naturally, discovering exactly how much chaos can fit into one relatively small pub kitchen. 😂
There’s plenty we want to develop and lots planned for the months ahead, and we’re excited to see what this team can do together.
So next time you’re tucking into lunch, grabbing one of our deals, ordering a burger or sitting down to your Sunday roast, these are the people working away behind the scenes to get it onto your plate. ❤️
New team. Fresh ideas. Exciting things ahead.
We can’t wait to show you what they can do. 🖤🌳
