Leanne Turk

My love for cooking began when I worked in my parents’ pub! I then completed a 3-year professional chef training course at Westminster Kingsway College, where I had the chance to experience working the kitchens of Le Gavroche, Locanda Locatelli, as well as a restaurant in Gaillac in the South of France.

I have been with Compass for six years, having previously worked for Gordan Ramsay Holdings and then gaining experience in contract catering. My Compass journey began in the education sector of Chartwells as a Training and Development Chef, before I progressed to Food Offer Development Chef across the state education sector, where I created recipes for our nutritionally compliant food offer. After three years in this development role, I moved to become the Lead Development Chef for Compass Group UK & Ireland.

The thing I love most about being part of the Compass team is that I am at the heart of innovation at the Chertsey HQ. I love working with new sectors, new ingredients and different customers and people. I like the creativity behind the scenes of the business that me and the team delivers.

Women in Food is close to my heart and I’m really proud to be Co-Chair of the network. As we’ve now expanded the role of our community to include all women in our business, it’s great to be working with so many talented females and make sure we’re all sharing ideas and experiences together.