Q&A: Tom Sellers
The owner of London restaurant Story - which was awarded a Michelin star six months after it opened - was recently a guest chef at Wan Chai's The Principal and shares his tales of success
"I fell in love with food because it's a great way to connect with people. Being a slight introvert, using cooking as a tool to connect with people is helpful for me. My food is a huge part of who I am and reflects my personality, my upbringing and where I've worked and trained."
"At Noma, I was there when we were named the best restaurant in the world - that was a huge day, you can't really top that. With Rene [Redzepi], it's thinking differently; thinking more about the environment of the produce and the products you are using and how that can affect the cooking style. That was a huge learning curve for me.
"Thomas Keller [of The French Laundry and Per Se] is an awesome restaurateur. His sense of awareness in terms of what the guest wants is amazing. I learned so much in how to run a kitchen when I worked under him.
"I worked with Tom [Aikens] at a young age and he gave me the tools to be able to work alongside the great chefs. He hardened me up, taught me how to taste, how to cook, work quick and clean and professional. His drive, passion and imagination all rubbed off on me hugely."
"It's about a boy living the dream. I always wanted to open a restaurant and I never knew if it would be possible. It's called Story because I'm telling my story - my food is who I am, connecting with my diners and having fun along the way. For me as a child, the only time we really sat as a family [of six] was around the dinner table and you would normally share stories about what you did that day. So it became all clear to me that food is about telling stories."
"My father used to eat beef dripping when I was a child; it was something he would eat every Sunday. It was a classic working-class kind of snack - you cook some beef for your Sunday dinner and dip bread in the fat that was left over. It's really bad for you, but very tasty. The candle idea goes back in history because before wax, candles were made with animal fat, called tallow candles, and I put one and one together, and now that dish has become iconic. Most people know about dripping, whether their grandma ate it or their aunt, so it's a powerful thing."