1) When did you first realise that you started to have an interest in cooking?
"Many chefs fall in love
with baking and cooking as a child with the parents and grand parents for me
this was not the case, infact as a child and my early teens I would avoid being
in the kitchen as much as possible! At 16 I got a job at a local hotel whilst
studying business, one night the kitchen were short and I was asked to step in
and help, this is were the love affair began!"
2) When did you first start working in a professional kitchen?
"16. After a few weeks of helping in the kitchen at the Posthouse Forte Hotel, I
decided to end my Business Studies and take on a full time apprenticeship and
I've never looked back."
3) What's your favourite dish to cook?
"I love to cook lots of foods, when working in North Yorkshire the amount of feathered Game I would get in from mallards to woodcocks that was absolutely fantastic and working at masa with my suppliers to ensure we get the best beef around and the most fantastic crabs and turbot, to the dishes which I create with my teams. I also love to make our homemade breads and our own receipe black pudding But my favourite dish to cook is Bavette
of Derbyshire Beef cooked sous-vide and glazed in balsamic and soy with
caramelised onion puree, Duck Fat Onions, Chanterelles, leek & sausage
Wellington, garlic & escargot butter."
4) Are there any particular ingredients that you like to use and why?
"Mushrooms!
I absolutely love them, to the point for my birthday my chefs brought me a kit
to start growing my own oyster plourettes! I love the different varieties, the
tastes, how with each season the selection of mushrooms changes the next few
weeks are great with morels and st George's mushrooms bang in season, the
verity of colours and how they can lift a dish to the next level! I really
believe in pairing the right mushroom to enhance a dish rather than just having
'wild mushrooms' on a menu."
5) What's your perfect comfort meal?
"Takeaway Pizza! After a
long day at work a pizza is defiantly my go to comfort food!"
6) What's the best piece of advice that you've been given by a fellow chef?
'you are only as good as
your weakest link, invest in your team'
7) What do you consider to be the most important piece of equipment to have in the kitchen?
"All
bits of kitchen equipment are important from my waterbaths to my 12 year old Wusthof chefs knife but the most important part of my kitchen are my Sous Chef Jack and Pastry Chef Richard, without them my vision of dishes would never make
it on to the plates never mind to the customers!"
8) If you hadn't become a chef, what would you like to have been doing as a career?
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