Luke Mackay

I'm a fraud. I shouldn't be here! I'm not a proper chef, not a REAL one. I haven't trained under the greats, haven't spent years peeling carrots or de-bearding mussels as my apprenticeship. I've never worked a single shift in a proper restaurant and I'd die on my arse if you made me.

But I can cook and I can communicate. And that makes me an ideal Private "˜Chef'. So that's what I do. I go into people

houses, chalets, yachts or offices and cook them the kind of food that they want to eat. The most important thing that I have learnt about cooking is to forget your ego- no one cares what you want to put on a plate. No one wants to hear your "˜concept'. If a client wants a well done steak then that's just fine by me. I will make it the best well done steak I can do. Someone puts salt on their dinner before they've tasted it? So what. If you take that as an insult you should get out of the kitchen. I can't abide the arrogance of chefs who think they know more about your palate than you do. Get a life and grow up. It's just food, stupid. I love what I do- I started about 5 years ago after a successful career in the events industry and then a stint in the wine trade. I have cooked for hundreds of rich, famous, lovely, vile and occasionally demented clients all over the world. I love doing everything- by that I mean the initial chat with a client, planning the menu, doing the shopping, matching the wine and then cooking all of the elements, plating them and then clearing

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up afterwards. The thought of being on a "˜station' is anaethema to me. I started tweeting about 10 months ago and I don't think that it is an exaggeration to say that it has changed my life. I have met some incredible people, cooked at the phenomenal kaiwecare dinner, been on BBC Breakfast twice, Five Live once and not least met my beautiful girlfriend who has a brilliant blog. I am currently writing a book about being a private chef, and I write a blog on my website, when I have time. My twitter bio (@lukemackaycooks) states that my blog is "˜The least foodie food blog in Christendom' and I think that that's about right- I've got stuff on there about Mozart, Nirvana, depression. As well as recipes and food thoughts that pop into my very cluttered mind. I rarely do restaurant reviews as I find it impossible not to entirely change my writing style and start saying "˜The scallops whilst small were infused with the sort of marine essence that one normally associates with"¦.' You get

the picture. Yuck. I love writing. I hope that people enjoy my posts. I am possibly too honest and have no doubt scared away potential clients from my otherwise very professional looking website. But that's a decision that I took consciously early on- that my blog would be an extension of my personality and hang the consequences. I hope that it stands apart from other food blogs- not better or worse- just a bit different.