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In the build up to The Staff Canteen Live 2015 at the Hospitality Show 2015, NEC Birmingham on January 19 – 21, we are taking a closer look at the chefs who will be joining us on stage. We dig a little deeper to find out what they are hiding under those chef whites!

Richard Bainbridge is the head chef of Morston Hall in Norfolk. The 32-year-old from Norwich will be joining us in Birmingham. We are thrilled to welcome one of Britain’s leading chefs, famed for running the Michelin starred fine-dining restaurant at Morston Hall.

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

What made you want to be a part of The Staff Canteen Live?

I think The Staff Canteen is a great website. It’s a really good forum and information resource. It was an honour to be asked to be involved with The Staff Canteen so I really wanted to get involved and be a part of it. “When heard about the line-up and who else was involved I couldn’t say no. For a little boy from Norfolk to appear on stage with those sort of guys is a great honour for me. We are stuck out in the sticks here at Morston Hall and I sometimes think people forget about us. It’s nice when people like Mark (Managing Director, The Staff Canteen) help us to get involved with things like this to let people see who we are. “I’m excited to go out there and do my demo. I’m nervous but at the same time it’s exciting to be able to learn from the other chefs there. The industry is more exciting than it’s ever been, it’s incredible. For me, this is the best job in the world.

What do you do in your spare time?

I love reading cookbooks. I wouldn’t say I was obsessed with the industry but I love every single aspect of it. I’m very lucky that my wife isn’t involved in the industry and likes to go out to eat and see other places. Other than that I try to spend as much time as I can with my seven month old daughter. That’s my big driving force when I have a day off, I want to be there and do things with her. “Obviously where we are is really quite rural so we love to go on big country walks and breathe in the fresh air. I try to take it on as an inspiration for my food as well.

What’s one thing you could tell us nobody else will know?

I’m dyslexic. I’m proud of that but at the same time I don’t shout about it. It holds me back but it can be beneficial too. It helps me be creative but when it comes to paperwork and writing recipes I really struggle with the reading and writing. New technology has really helped with that, I can talk into my Ipad rather than write things down so I feel like less of an idiot.

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What’s the last album you bought?

I bought this Icelandic orchestral album recently. Unfortunately I can’t remember the name but I really like it. I find it quite therapeutic when I’m driving home after work. It helps me switch off from it all because when I get home I have to be the family man. Last night I got home and my baby girl was teething so I was up until 5am.

Chocolate or cheese?

Cheese. Especially blue cheese. Sometimes when I get home from work I’ll have toast with blue cheese, salami and sweet chilli sauce. You can’t beat it.

Marco or Gordon?

Now that’s difficult! It’s got to be Marco because of ‘White Heat’. As a 15-year-old picking up ‘White Heat’ I was literally engulfed by the industry. Gordon’s a massive inspiration as well though, ‘Boiling Point’ was absolutely brilliant. Marco was the first one to make cooking cool while Gordon was the protégé who almost took it further.

What’s your worst injury or cut in the kitchen?

When I was 16, at catering college, I sliced off my finger. I was slightly hung-over and we had to cut cod steaks out of a whole piece of cod. I was hacking through it and kept getting skin so I got my finger in to pull the skin out of the way and then, instead of cod, I hacked my finger off. I was fine but I remember my lecturer nearly passed out as my finger was still on the knife. I went to A&E with blood splattered all over my college chef jacket. My Mum was walking behind me in floods of tears holding a jug with my finger in it and then I had to have it sewn back on. It’s fine now, there’s a scar but that’s it. That’s, without doubt, the worst injury I’ve had in the kitchen but I was 16, I just thought it was rock and roll.

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

I would have really liked to have been a postman. I did my work experience as a postman but, as I’m dyslexic, I found the reading and writing quite difficult. In a fantasy world I would have loved to have been a drama teacher. I love to teach and it’s one of the things I love the most about the industry that I’m in now. It’s one of the reasons I was so keen to get involved with The Staff Canteen Live.

Richard will be joining us at 14:30 on Tuesday, January 20, for The Staff Canteen Live. It should be an excellent event and a must for any food-lover.

By Tom Evans

The Hospitality Show takes place at the NEC Birmingham from January 19-21, 2015. Registration for the show is open now at: http://www.hospitalityshow.co.uk/sc/