for fish cookery but I get to do both here because we’re in land.
I wear my heart on my sleeve so I got… authentic. I won’t say more. I didn’t swear though.
What did you think of the brief?
Loved it. Food for me is all about memories and a sense of place and I think music is very similar. I like to cook with the ebb and flow of the seasons and you play music if you’re sad, happy; it’s all very emotive. It was tough – it’s like being given a project in school, you have to come up with what you think and feel so it took me quite a long time to do it.
Did you create your dishes with the brief in mind?
It was all about my Desert Island dishes – I love listening to peoples’ lives, especially people you wouldn’t necessarily be interested in. In this day and age where everyone is rushing around I think it’s really interesting to stop and listen and hear peoples’ lives and how their careers have developed.
My idea was that play on words – obviously I couldn’t pick eight songs but Bowie was one of the most influential artists in British music history, and the heroes dish was all about the people involved in creating food at my restaurant that allow me to do my job.
Another song I chose was Staying Alive by the Beegees which is one of those songs which at the end of an evening people get up and dance to.
Growing up, my parents were from those days when they all seemed to be partying all the time and for me food is all about coming together. So my Desert Island disks is what I wanted to showcase. Ironically, Roger, who supplied the buck for my main course had all the vinyls, so I borrowed them to use as props. I also used a cast away bottle.
My dishes were taking me back to my desert island – I hope that transpires.
I’m not sure Daniel Clifford listens to desert island disks, he’s more of an Oasis guy. I think next time I would be more literal.
For me, Radiohead, Bowie, they’re some sea shanties on my list, it was songs that took me back to a place.
Which of your dishes would you’ve taken to the banquet?
My starter meant a lot to me because it was all about stripping things back, using ingredients I love. That’s what I’ve based my career on and done really well with; less is more, keeping it simple and letting the ingredients talk but I got quite nervous with my starter so it wasn’t as good as my practice dishes. Ironically it was my most simple dish but as I say all the time, simplicity doesn’t always work, you have to get it right.
That was my favourite dish, but I loved my fish course, I was trying to be a little bit different. The duck dish I loved – I made wine with my partner. It made it really personal, I was involved in every part of the process in making the wine. Daniel Clifford went and got glasses and we all had a glass of wine – where you see the other chefs drinking coffee, we had my wine.
I think my pudding gave the boys a run for their money.
I don’t know why I left it until the last minute, but I had a fifteen minute ice cream maker so I literally started churning my ice cream with twenty minutes till plating, but it was beautiful.
And my ice cream maker has since not been working very well so luckily it performed on the day.
It used to be my mum’s and I have these lovely memories of her cooking batches of ice cream. It’s not very high tech, but for me it was all about trying to tie in the memories. It was a bit different, the boys were like: “what is that” and they were using all the high tech stuff.
I like to cook with fire, I’ve got a sous vide I don’t really use; I like pots and pans, I like processes, I like sifting flour, I like melting butter. It’s just the way I cook; I want fire, I don’t want to vacuum pack everything. And that’s quite intimidating when everyone is doing that.”
Overall, would you recommend GBM, and would you do it again?
I would. I met so many lovely people; it was intense, because you’re dropped into this warehouse with no idea where you are with people you don’t really know, you’re just suddenly thrown together, but it was brilliant.
I’m so glad to have done it. I know I work at a high level but I’ve just been doing what I do so when you start putting yourself out there there’s an expectation. But it was brilliant.
Had you come across Lee or Joe before?
