Executive head chef, Jesmond Dene House
What do you have for breakfast?
If I go out for breakfast, it has to be a really good eggs benedict with lashings of hollandaise sauce.
And your go-to guilty pleasure?
That would have to be a chicken kebab with chips, salad, and garlic and chilli sauce.
What would be your last meal on earth?
It would have to be roast lamb with all the trimmings, extra Yorkshire pudding, cauliflower cheese, and lashings of gravy. You can’t beat it!
What can I find in your home fridge right now?
I love to cook Asian food at home so there’s always onions, garlic, chilli and ginger in there. There’ll also be some beer.
What ingredient would you have, if you could only have one?
It would have to be butter. As James Martin says, everything tastes better with butter!
What is your most important piece of equipment in the kitchen?
I’ll go for the Thermomixer as it’s so versatile. I also love my Japanese Konro Grill as it adds so much flavour to everything you cook on it.
What is your favourite cookbook?
Larousse Gastronomique – it’s the go-to encyclopaedia for all chefs.
What is your most important piece of advice in the kitchen?
Always be open to learning, no matter your age or experience. You can learn something from everyone working in a kitchen – age is no barrier.
What would you be doing if you weren’t a chef?
I’d probably be working in some form of construction, like the majority of my friends.
If you only had £10 to buy food, what would you get?
I’d get some chicken, garlic, ginger, lemongrass and soy, and put together something with an Asian flavour.
Who is the greatest cook ever?
For me, it has to be Gordon Ramsay.
Jesmond Dene House, Jesmond Dene Road, Newcastle, NE2 2EY, tel 0191 21 3000, www.jesmonddenehouse.co.uk
