Lecturer in Catering & Hospitality
Highly experienced in the catering industry, former Warrant Officer Martyn has travelled the world with the Army, from cooking for the Queen in the middle of a Scottish field, to preparing meals for troops in war torn countries.
He was the first apprentice chef to be capped for the full Corp rugby team and Army U21s, and mentored two chefs to win the coveted Army Chef of the Year Award.
I initially started working at Sunderland College as a work based assessor in 2008, assessing NVQs around the area and then became part of the teaching staff at Hylton Campus in 2011.
At 17 I joined the Army Catering Corps, which was a very hard time in my life both physically and mentally.
The Army took me all over the world, from London to the Falkland Islands, Canada and Iraq giving me an extensive knowledge of catering from cooking VIP canapes for the Queen in the middle of a field in Bremer, Scotland, to feeding troops in war torn locations.
I teach across Sunderland College’s professional cookery courses which I really enjoy.
On leaving the Army in 2008 I didn’t have a clue what I was going to do. It was hard leaving an organisation that help and look after everyone, it was my family and my life!
I started working for Sunderland College assessing NVQs around the local area, before becoming a member of the teaching staff in 2011.
I love the sense of achievement when students pass their practical tests.
My first job was at my local fish and chip shop when I was 14, where I would spend two hours every night and four hours on a weekend peeling and chipping potatoes.
