Revelations – Adam Simmonds
What was your first job? Pot washer. Those were the days
What was your first job in catering? Cooking in a pub while at college, aged 16
What do you normally have for breakfast? Two poached eggs on wholemeal toast (but not when the girlfriend is cooking, though - then it's a bowl of cereal)
What do you do to relax? Spend time with the girlfriend and watch her do my ironing
Which is your favourite restaurant? Any local country pub with my missus, as it is relaxing. I dined at Michel Bras this year - that was very special
Are there any foods/ingredients that you refuse to cook with? Pasteurised crab meat. It has no relation to the real thing
What is your favourite food/cuisine? Japanese
Which ingredient do you hate the most? Tinned anchovies
What flavour combinations do you detest? Anything overcomplicated. It's nice to be able to appreciate each individual flavour in a dish, good or bad
Which person in catering have you most admired? Raymond Blanc - a culinary genius and a true gentleman
Which person gave you the greatest inspiration? Lee Evans. You have to laugh
What is your favourite drink? Becks, of course, although while I'm working it would have to be jasmine tea. The days of alcohol in kitchens are thankfully long gone
Cast away on a desert island, what luxury would you take? The girlfriend. If not a person, then probably a laptop with all of Tottenham's FA Cup Final triumphs saved on it
If not yourself, who would you rather have been? Eddie Irvine - taller than me, a hit with the ladies, and not a bad driver
If you had not gone into catering, where do you think you would be now? Styling hair in London
Describe your ultimate nightmare Losing my trusted spoon. It's been with me longer than most of my chefs have
Who would be in your fantasy brigade? Meat, Raymond Blanc; fish, Marco Pierre White; veg, Samuel Jones, my wing man at Danesfield House; pastry, Frédéric Bau; larder, Pierre Gagnaire
Adam Simmonds is executive chef at Danesfield House
