Convinced of his career path, he trained at an extremely high calibre military chef training school in Ireland for two years.‘It was really tough, you had to be in bed by 10.30pm and if you were found with the light still on at 11pm you had to clean toilets at 6am,’ Noel recalls. The 33 year old did however benefit from some of the best training and high calibre work placements. ‘I found I enjoyed the work so much I even went in on my days off,’ adds Noel.

Originally trained as a pastry chef, he popped into the Radisson at Stansted for a week to help out a friend, that was eight years ago and he’s never left the company since. ‘As well as being a great company to work for, there are also great travel opportunities,’ Noel explains. He has recently travelled to other Radisson hotels in Jersey and Brussells as well as the Radisson Hotel in Dubai which has 11 separate restaurants. Although Noel began his full-time career at Stansted, after two years he left to work elsewhere for the hotel group, most recently the Radisson in Manchester. But now he is back in Stansted again, which is very special to him. ‘I’m very positive about returning. There’s so much on offer here. You’ve got the New York Grill & Bar with its American diner-style menu, Angels Wine Tower Bar for traditional British cuisine and our newest Italian restaurant, Filini, offering the highest quality, authentic Italian food.’

Noel believes the key to the best tasting Italian cuisine is in the quality of the ingredients. ‘You can really taste the love the Italians put into their food,’ says Noel. ‘We too use the finest oils and the freshest ingredients. Even our focaccia bread is baked on the premises.’ To tempt you to sample some Italian passion, here’s Noel’s recipe for Filini’s Antipasti Platter.

Chef’s top tipsAlthough we source our meats from Italy for Filini, a lot of good bresola, Parma ham and speck can be sourced in local delicatessens. Also this dish can be pre-prepared and is ideal for sharing. It’s best served with some fresh warm bread and good quality extra virgin olive oils.

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Radisson Blu Hotel London Stansted AirportWaltham CloseLondon Stansted AirportEssexCM24 1PP01279 66 1012

Filini's Antipasti Platter

Ingredients (serves 2)

6 cherry tomatos drizzle with olive oil and grill for 8-10 minutes60g of green beans cook in boiling salted water for 60 seconds and toss in olive oil, with a chopped shallot and salt and pepper60g of roasted red pepper roast for 20 minutes and peel when cold60g of grilled aubergine slice thinly, salt and leave for 30 minutes so the salt absorbs the moisture and then grill. Toss with olive oil, garlic and balsamic vinegar60g of grilled courgette slice thinly and marinate with lemon juice, olive oil salt and pepper6 leaves of washed baby gem lettuce60g of sliced bresola60g of sliced Parma ham60g of sliced speck60g of good quality olives60g of artichoke trim and grill