How did you become a chef? 'Like most things, I fell into it. After studying drama and English in Winchester [in southern England] I spent a working holiday in a European kitchen and thought the food I was making wasn't very good - and I had to learn how to do it properly.'
What's the best part about being in the kitchen? 'I'm a pyromaniac - and if you don't like fire, you're not going to do very well there. At Moro [in London], where I had my first full-time cook's position, they not only had stoves but a wood-burning oven and a charcoal grill, so I was in heaven.'
What are your main influences in cooking? 'I was very much influenced by the chefs at Moro, Samantha and Samuel Clark. They taught me to concentrate on taste, flavour and texture, and less on presentation. Food is beautiful, so presentation takes care of itself if you allow it. They were, in turn, very influenced by Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray at The River Cafe, and the people at Eagle, as well as by Fergus Henderson of St John [all London eateries]. I think that lot have really defined cuisine in Britain and influenced the way I cook.'
What are your favourite dishes on your menu? 'I love the fact I have a nettle soup on the menu. Falling off your bike and running home crying to mum with a leg full of nettle stings - that's a defining moment for everyone growing up in Britain. We also have a lovely grilled mackerel dish with rhubarb compote. We normally see rhubarb in a pudding, so to have it with savoury food is quite unusual but it works really well.'
What is your cooking philosophy? 'If you were to distil it into two words, it would be 'seasonal cooking'. I just love working with fresh produce [but] I don't like messing with it too much. We do some lovely slow-cooking with meat but generally the vegetables are quickly prepared.'
What about taking the 'locavore' premise of your cooking elsewhere? 'I have thought about doing it in Tokyo - because I think it would be the most bonkers challenge, given the fact there are probably not a lot of natural resources in that place. I guess Singapore or Hong Kong would be a similar challenge.'
