Twin passions

Self-discipline is a way of life with me - it always has been. If I wasn't organised, I wouldn't get through the week. Everything is done to order. If it's in my diary, it happens at the time it says it will.

Mornings start for me around 6.30am. My two-year-old son is an early waker - he's better than any alarm clock.

Like a lot of chefs, I used to skip breakfast, or just have coffee and more coffee, but two years ago I made a New Year resolution that I would start to eat better. Monday to Saturday, breakfast is the same - a fresh fruit salad I make myself from whatever fruit is in the kitchen.

I've got to say I feel better for it, but Sundays I relax and still have a fry-up.

Mondays and Tuesdays are paperwork days. The Longridge restaurant is closed and I can work solidly at my desk and clear it. I believe in a tidy kitchen and a tidy desk.

My in-tray is nearly always empty on Tuesday afternoon, though at the moment I've got a pile of papers on the side of the desk to do with Liverpool. We open Simply Heathcotes there in October. It's going OK. I just wish the Birmingham opening next spring was going as smoothly; but we'll get there.

Midday the rest of the week is visiting Simply Heathcotes in Preston and Manchester. The brasseries there have good managers who run things. I work on dishes, but don't get involved with the day-to-day cooking; I never have.

I probably eat lunch once a week in Simply Heathcotes Manchester and Preston to check things, but I'll make it a business lunch with somebody I need to talk to. If I'm not eating front of house, then it's a salad.

I'm 40 next year and, as well as eating healthily, I like to keep fit. I go to Blackburn Rovers' gym and train two afternoons a week - never miss. It's that discipline thing again.

Unless there's something really unavoidable on, I go home to Longridge every afternoon and eat with Gaby and the kids. That's important to me.

I'm in the kitchen at Paul Heathcotes from Wednesday to Saturday evenings. I'll share a corner with one of the lads or do the pass. I know some people think Heathcote is a businessman these days, and not a chef, but I still love cooking. I get the same buzz from it now as I ever did.

Why do people say a chef can't be passionate about food and passionate about building a business? The only thing I'm not passionate about any more is guidebook stuff. It was nice to get two Michelin stars, but I wasn't that bothered when it went down to one.

I don't think I'd be bothered if it went down to none - the restaurant is as busy now as it's ever been. Every night I lock the door I feel proud.

interview by Bob Gledhill

Just a minute…

What's the finest meal you have ever eaten?

In 1995 at Jamin in Paris, when Robuchon was there. It was unforgettable.

What is your greatest challenge?

Avoiding dilution of quality as I expand. It's hard to avoid.

What was your worst career moment?

A customer complaining they could see a dead mouse in the restaurant nine months after I opened. It was like something out of Fawlty Towers.

Facts

Paul Heathcote

Paul Heathcotes

Jeffrey Hill, Longridge, Lancashire PR3 3SY

Tel: 01772 784969

Average spend: £60 a head

Other food operations: Simply Heathcotes, Preston; Simply Heathcotes, Manchester; Heathcotes Outside; Paul Heathcote's School of Excellence

Future plans: Simply Heathcotes, Liverpool, opens October; Simply Heathcotes, Birmingham, opens next spring; currently considering opening in Sheffield