What was your first industry job?
Helping out at a local restaurant while at university. They tolerated my lack of knowledge but also seemed very confused as to why I wanted to be there.
If you weren’t in kitchens, what would you do?
Probably gardening – still connected to food, but you actually get to see sunlight.
What industry figure do you most admire?
I mostly admire the chefs who have had the most positive influence on my career: Leafy Ashton and Noha Moukarzel. After a string of fairly bad jobs, they both taught me a huge amount and gave me the freedom to experiment.
What’s your pet hate in the kitchen?
Small chopping boards.
What’s the oddest thing a customer has said to you?
Not infrequently, the first thing people ask me at the end of the meal is how old I am.
Sum up your cooking style in a single sentence.
Precise, considered and surprising.
What’s the worst review you’ve ever had?
“Well, it was a nice try…”
What advice would you give someone starting out in the industry?
Don’t accept being treated poorly in order to earn your stripes – there are plenty of good eggs around. And always keep a pen on you.
Which single item of kitchen equipment could you not live without?
I feel like the correct answer is a good knife, but in truth it’s my Thermomix.
What would you choose to eat for your last meal?
Lasagne followed by a cheap cherry pie and a vanilla milkshake.
À la carte or tasting menu?
Tasting menu, although I think I’d struggle to finish one these days.
What’s the best meal you’ve ever had in a restaurant?
The first time I ate at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons inspired me to go into fine dining. I had never tasted food like it – I couldn’t understand how everything I ate could be both so flavourful and so light.
What’s your favourite fast-food joint?
I struggle to walk past a McDonald’s without getting a McFlurry in the summer.
What’s the dish you wish you’d thought of?
Phil Howard’s langoustine with gnocchi and mushroom purée.
MasterChef or Great British Menu?
Great British Menu.
What’s the most overrated food?
Caviar.
You’re restaurant dictator for a day – what would you ban?
Goat’s cheese. And my water being topped up after every sip.
Who would your dream dinner-party guests be?
I’m more a fan of small dinner parties, so maybe just Bruce Springsteen, Prince and my wife, so I’d have someone to debrief with afterwards.
What’s your earliest food memory?
Squeezing out the insides of sweetcorn kernels because I wouldn’t eat the skin. I was a very fussy child.
TikTok or Instagram?
Instagram, although I don’t have the app installed on my phone in an attempt to minimise my doomscrolling.
What’s the closest you’ve ever come to death?
I stood on a bee a couple of years ago and my foot went black.
Where do you go when you want to let your hair down?
I have a long-standing whisky night with school friends. We don’t get the chance to meet up as often as we used to, but when we do, that would be my choice.
What’s your tipple of choice?
A Negroni or an Old Fashioned. I used to drink a cocktail called a Gorilla Tit, which is equal parts rum, bourbon and Kahlúa, but I think I’d die if I had one now.
What’s your favourite food and drink pairing?
Whisky – Laphroaig 10 Year Old – and popcorn.
What do you consider to be your signature dish?
I didn’t set out to have a signature dish and always intended everything to change at some point, but based on guest feedback, I don’t think I could now take the mas paan – Sri Lankan filled bread – off the menu. It’s a milk bread filled with pork cheek curry and served with whipped cardamom butter.