CHEF’S NOTES
ON MEALS & MEMORIES
“Whenever I put a particular combination of ingredients together in a pan or on a plate I remember something from the past – happy memories of family and friends, remembering where we were, what we were talking or laughing about, or just appreciating the time spent together – this is the best thing about food.”
ON TRADITIONAL RECIPES
“I have always had so much respect for food historians who research, catalogue and preserve recipes. Their work helps me to be mindful of the responsibility we have to guard traditional recipes so they survive long into the future. As a chef it is also my responsibility to develop and build on recipes so they improve. The languages we speak are not the same as they were hundreds of years ago, and neither are recipes the same, they’ve evolved too.”
ON SEASONALITY
“Living on a farm in rural Spain, my family knew how to live off the land. One of the main things I love about vegetables is how seasonal they are, and how the food we eat changes through the year. In my restaurants, I like to change the menus to reflect the changing seasons and the variations in produce. This helps me feel more in touch with nature.”
ALTHOUGH I LOVE THE adrenaline running through my veins during service in the restaurant, I also love cooking more quietly at home for friends and family.
I started cooking in my twenties, but when I was a boy I
