So, I grew up between London and Hertfordshire
and obviously London, you know, was doing very London things
That's really where I, kind of, learnt about restaurants
and entertainments that London provides
We were so much more free in Hertfordshire
It's a very rural part of England
Food was very inspiring there
We grew a lot of stuff in the garden
So, you know, the meat we ate was grazing in the fields
You got that sort of sense of immediate connection
My mother used to send me with this little lunchbox
that usually had things like, sort of, fresh crab in it
I'd always be a bit embarrassed
because the other kids would have their little sandwiches and crisps
When I was at sixth form,
I remember finding a copy of The Blue River Cafe Cookbook
and making this squash risotto with some crisp sage leaves
which I thought at the time was incredibly sophisticated
It was then that I thought that this is something
that I wanted to do more than anything else
So that's what I pursued.
I went off and did a year's course at Leeds
and it really, sort of, set me up
and it gave me the confidence to apply for a job at Moro
and it sort of went on from there
Any way we could do later on the Thursday?
I really like to get most of my work done in the morning
If I'm not testing the recipes, then I'll be writing
and I'll try and stop and obviously have a nice lunch and things
My mother is a brilliant cook
so I just sort of associate good food with my mother
kind of looking after me
when I was recovering from this terrible car accident
and I had a very badly broken jaw
and I couldn't chew or eat anything solid for months
So for every meal, she made me a different kind of soufflé
One of the most significant results was I lost my memory
almost completely for about a year
It completely altered my experience of eating
It was like the world was, sort of, like revealed anew
When I'm in Devon, what I find really inspiring is, you know,
going out and picking vegetables that I might have grown
The thing that I love about foraging as well is that nature gives you
different things at different times of year
and it really, kind of, roots you to a place
There's a wonderful old oakwood I discovered recently
which is covered in wood purslane which I pick for a salad
The bountiful elderflower--
and I found a pink elderflower bush in the garden
You don't want to cook food that's too fussy
when you're in the country
So I really enjoy that and I enjoy, you know
working within the confines of the [inaudible]
which can be frustrating
Since we've had the bees, I've become much more aware
of the flowers that we've got in our garden
and I'm always thinking of new things to put in
Using things like honey and stuff that I've foraged
from the garden--
yes, I think it's one of the most fulfilling
and joy-giving things that you can do in cooking