now it’s your turn

You may have wondered sometimes where a chef gets his or her inspiration from, so I thought I’d try to give you a sense of the things I enjoy. I think my style of light, fresh and colourful food has been shaped by the kind of person I am and the things I do, even though some of these may have nothing to do with food.

I’m quite an impulsive person and enjoy my friends, family and lifestyle as much as I do cooking. I often find that these things have an influence on my recipes, along with things like the clothes I wear, the music I listen to and stuff like that. My style of cooking is not intense and in-your-face as I’m not an uptight kind of person, so my food doesn’t reflect that. I suppose what I’m trying to say is that it’s important to put your own stamp on things. When you buy a house or rent a flat you decorate it in your own style; when you go to a wedding you might not want to wear a tie or hat; when you make a steak sandwich you might want to drink a really over-the-top glass of French claret with it. Life is full of rules and regulations, dos and don’ts and contradictions, but I like to be slightly odd, a bit naughty, a bit edgy and (hopefully!) a bit funky. It’s the same in cooking.

I do love food — I’m obsessed by it. I think about breakfast in the evening and dinner at breakfast. I often daydream about family dinners ten days in advance. You can’t always plan ahead, though — for instance, it’s no good setting your heart on a particular sea bass recipe, just because you want to eat sea bass that day. It could be that it’s been rough at sea and the fish will have been hanging round since the weekend and starting to smell. Better to ask the fishmonger what’s fresh, use your nose, use your eyes, give the fish a feel and then decide what to buy. Certainly the most effortless way to be inspired is simply to go for a walk down the market and see what’s in season. It goes a bit like this: English asparagus has come in, the peas are sweet and bursting in your mouth, the mint in the herb box is growing like the clappers and strangling the rosemary, leafy Sicilian lemons are about — bloody hell, this is great — I know for a fact that I’ve got some extra virgin olive oil stashed in the back of a dark cupboard at home, some great Arborio risotto rice, some tagliatelle or spaghetti even, I’ve got fresh organic eggs which are double-yolkers and golden and I’ve got a couple of those goose eggs from Mr Turnip down at Borough Market. I could make a frittata with some pecorino and Parmesan, or maybe some goat’s cheese. My mouth’s beginning to water; right, I’ll buy those peas mate and I’ll have that asparagus. I’ll eat some of these peas raw while I’m waiting to pay.

It really is all about twists and turns and putting new tyres on old wheels. Sometimes I’ve thought I’ve invented something new and have found out that it’s already been done slightly differently by someone else, but it doesn’t stop me and it shouldn’t stop you really taking cooking by the horns and making it a part of your life that you enjoy. Trust me, you’ll love it. As far as I’m concerned, anyone who says they hate cooking or food just doesn’t know that they like it yet.

Very often when I’m inventing new dishes I’ll draw them before attempting to cook them for the first time. It helps me to see things visually, so try out whatever helps you — it’s a bit like writing a shopping list or drawing up plans for a new garden. Here’s a funny little montage of some of the things that inspire me — designs, feelings, people, experiences — things I feel I relate to and that make me happy. You’re bound to have your own list, and everyone’s will be different.