The Woman Behind The Chef: Clare Smyth

The Staff Canteen

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In the build up to The Staff Canteen Live 2016 – Skillery in association with Westlands and supported by the Craft Guild of Chefs at Hotelympia 2016, we are taking a closer look at the chefs who will be joining us on stage - next up Clare Smyth. 

Clare Smyth is the chef patron of Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in Chelsea. The 37-year-old, originally from Northern Ireland, was appointed an MBE in 2013 and remains the only woman in the UK to hold three Michelin stars. Clare SmythClare joined Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in 2002 as a chef de partie and rose to the position of senior sous chef in just under three years. She has been chef patron at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay since 2007.

>>> Read more in the Behind The Chef series here

This year she is seeking a new location in London to set up an independent restaurant. The new restaurant is scheduled to open autumn 2016 and in the meantime Clare continues to act as Consultant Chef for the Gordon Ramsay Group.

At The Staff Canteen we want to see what makes chefs tick. We asked Clare a few questions about what she gets up to when not in the kitchen:

Would you rather order a starter or a pudding?

A pudding

What would your last meal be?

Oysters, black truffle linguine, cote de boeuf and chips, comte cheese, rum baba

What was the last thing you ate?

Porridge

If you weren’t a chef what would you be?

A showjumper

If you could choose to dine in any restaurant in the world which would you choose?

Louis XV

Who is you celebrity crush?

Daniel Craig

If someone was to write your biography what would it be called?

‘For the love of food’

What do you listen to in the kitchen?

Silence

What are you most proud of?

My team and how they have grown

If you could own another chef’s restaurant whose would you choose?

The French Laundry

Who would you trust to run your restaurant?

Head Chef, Matt Abe

Why did you choose to get involved with TSCLive?

It is a great way to work with people in the industry

Visitors can go to www.hotelympia.com and register now for a free ticket to the show.

>>> Read more from The Staff Canteen Live 2016 at Hotelympia here

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The Staff Canteen

The Staff Canteen

Editor 5th February 2016

The Woman Behind The Chef: Clare Smyth