BUTCHER, baker, chef. You’re in the hands of a real foodie when you dine at Southampton’s Rancho restaurant.

Head chef Steve Coxell loves food so much that he has had all three jobs in a lifetime devoted to eating, producing and cooking great food.

He says: “As a lot of people will say, I started young. One of my first jobs was washing dishes, then I progressed to helping the chef and so on.

“I have never worked in an establishment with any major prestige, but I have had a lot of experience covering a wide number of cuisines.

“I was also a butcher and a baker at different points.

“I never really sat down and said ‘I want to be a chef’, it was a natural progression. The reasoning was that I have always had an affinity with food and cooking comes naturally. It was an obvious choice.

“I have always enjoyed food and it was a big part of family life as a child. Family meals at home and dining out were a regular occurrence.

Some of my oldest memories are of helping my mother in the kitchen.

Steve now finds himself in an enviable position, in charge of the menus across the chain, which has brought several versions of the South American meat-lover’s paradise to high streets across the south coast, including Poole, Southsea and Bournemouth.

“I guess Rancho is responsible for my current position,” he adds.

“I have worked for Mr Rahman (co-owner and director Martin Rahman) for nearly six years. I have helped develop the brand from one small independent restaurant to a chain.

“This does mean I have moved on from the basic day-to-day cooking and work on our new projects now.”

The steakhouse success story has been key for Steve.

“The resurgence of steakhouses has obviously been a big part of my recent experience.

“I have also seen that over the last few years a wider range of top- quality world cuisines have become available not just the generic take away. I think it’s down to the general public expecting more.”

And that can never be a bad thing for foodies.