Handling started his culinary training aged 16 as the first apprentice chef at Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland. He then went on to work in London before heading his first brigade as Sous Chef at the Malmaison Hotel in Newcastle. He then moved back to Scotland to become the Fairmont group's youngest ever Head Chef at the Fairmont St Andrews. Handling took on the role of Head Chef at St. Ermin’s Hotel in St James’s Park, where he led a team of 22. From there, he entered and became a finalist in Masterchef, the Professionals 2013.