Revelations: Inesa Dirginciute, head chef, Angler, South Place hotel, London

We delve into the life and inner thoughts of a top chef. This week: Inesa Dirginciute, head chef, Angler, South Place hotel, London

 

What was your best subject at school?

 

Art and languages

 

What was your first job?

 

At Albi, a very traditional restaurant in Lithuania, after school (I started baking there)

 

What was your first job in catering?

 

When I moved to London I worked at Le Pain Quotidien (while learning English), and stayed for four years, ending up second in command

 

What do you normally have for breakfast?

 

Avocado on toast

 

What do you do to relax?

 

I love all types of exercise, and I am learning to play the guitar

 

Which is your favourite restaurant?

 

Kitchen W8, London

 

What’s your favourite hotel?

 

Unplugged Digital Detox Cabins

 

What is your favourite drink?

 

Coconut cappuccino

 

Which ingredient do you hate the most?

 

Sea urchin

 

Which person in catering have you most admired?

 

Gordon Ramsay and Gary Foulkes, executive chef at Angler

 

Which person gave you the greatest inspiration?

 

Adam Mound

 

If not yourself, who would you rather have been?

 

A cat

 

If you had not gone into catering, where do you think you would be now?

 

An artist or a photographer

 

When and where was your last holiday?

 

Lithuania – to a family gathering

 

What irritates you most about the industry? Arrogance

 

What’s your favourite books?

 

Inner Engineering: A Yogi’s Guide to Joy by Sadhguru, or Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty

 

What is your favourite prepared product?

 

Sweet chilli and pepper crisps

 

Who would be in your “fantasy” brigade?

 

Gordon Ramsay, Gary Foulkes, Tom Petters (executive chef at Gracy’s in Malta) and Tomas Lidakevicius (chef-patron at Turnips, London)