TV Show Host, Author, Podcaster, Instructor, Innovator, Influencer, and a Champion Celebrity Chef…
For someone who has ‘Knight’ as part of his name, James Knight-Pacheco definitely lives up to the expression of it… truly gallant, partisan, and also a champion, with an illustrious and much-celebrated career in the kitchen.
This is what James calls the kitchen as his female-led family made up by his Grandmother, Mother, four Sisters, and lots of Aunts who always gathered here for everything. It is no brainer then to guess where he gets his love for Food and the Kitchen from.
He liked school, but absolutely loved cooking and so took up a job as a waiter for some extra pocket money. Whilst there he got to do small stints in the kitchen as well, which he thoroughly enjoyed and so what followed naturally was a formal three-year degree course in hospitality, post which he went on to become a college lecturer while also managing a pub. It is there that he soon realized that there was more to cooking than just simple pub food and so decided to turn to fine dining. The rest, as they say, is history.
A Place called “Magic”
This is what James calls the kitchen as his female-led family made up by his Grandmother, Mother, four Sisters, and lots of Aunts who always gathered here for everything. It is no brainer then to guess where he gets his love for Food and the Kitchen from.
He liked school, but absolutely loved cooking and so took up a job as a waiter for some extra pocket money. Whilst there he got to do small stints in the kitchen as well, which he thoroughly enjoyed and so what followed naturally was a formal three-year degree course in hospitality, post which he went on to become a college lecturer while also managing a pub. It is there that he soon realized that there was more to cooking than just simple pub food and so decided to turn to fine dining. The rest, as they say, is history.
Ranked amongst the Top 50 Most Influential People within the MENA Region
He has had the fortune and opportunity to work at some of the most amazing places such as at the world-renowned Le Manoir Aux Quat’ Saisons where he worked at every single section of the entire hotel & kitchen and with several internationally acclaimed chefs such as Michael Caines, Jason Atherton, Peter Gorton and Andre Garrett, including the admired Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s, and Raymond Blanc.
He was also the runner up on BBC’s ‘The Restaurant Series’ in 2008, which then was followed by being covered on two of BBC’s other prime-time cooking shows ‘Out of the Frying Pan’ and ‘The Restaurant’ wherein he was tested for his mettle in the real world, as this event catered to a very demanding guest list and went on for well over 18 hours of continuous service!
“Every day is a school day; be pushing yourself to learn & do more and be humble & kind always.”
The Other Side of James
For someone who is so in love with his culinary repertoire and also so busy with its many demands and commitments; he still finds the time and energy for other pursuits where he finds pleasure to rewind and recharge himself. He has studied music and enjoys it thoroughly; he takes pleasure in playing rugby as a sport, besides being an avid reader too.
He also runs a consultancy service where he is available to make use of his knowledge, experience, and expertise for any new or struggling restaurant looking to improve consistency, or simply looking to improve the efficiency in their kitchen.
He recently launched The Dubai Chefs Collective along with Chef Shane Born, where one can find the finest chefs from Dubai coming together on one platform to share their ideas, tips, tricks, and their own speciality recipes. With so many unbelievably talented & brilliant chefs in Dubai hailing from across the continents, this is one space that one cannot afford to miss.
His latest initiative is the James Knight-Pacheco (JKP) Podcast where he brings to the listeners inspiring stories of people within hospitality – their ups, their downs, and everything that they experienced in between and what it took to keep up in one of the most competitive, mentally and physically stressful industries in the world. You can tune in to it here JKP Podcast.
