Chef revelations – Adam Bennett, chef director, The Cross in Kenilworth
What was your first job? Cleaning the kitchen at a dodgy local pub in Coventry. Things could only get better!
What was your first job in catering? A summer job at Gasthof Schöttlkarspitz in a small Bavarian village close to the Austrian border. They served good, wholesome Bavarian cooking, which I think is underrated. I learned to work damned hard there.
Describe your ultimate nightmare Dropping the platter at the Bocuse d'Or.
What do you normally have for breakfast? A cup of tea and, if we have some in, toasted sourdough.
What is your favourite prepared product? Red wine
What's your favourite restaurant? Daniel et Denise in Lyon for good, honest cooking. L'Enclume for purity and sparkling flavours.
What's your favourite hotel?
What's your favourite drink? I can't just give one! Ruinart Blanc de Blancs, Leffe Blonde and Purity Ubu.
Are there any foods/ingredients that you refuse to cook with? If so, why? Any asparagus other than British. We need to support our industry if it isn't to go the same way as the cherry orchards.
Which ingredient do you hate the most? Szechuan buds
Which person in catering have you most admired? Anton Mosimann - one tut from Mossiman was more devasting than any other bollocking I've had
Cast away on a desert island, what luxury would you take? A trawler
Which person gave you the greatest inspiration? Alain Ducasse and many of the young cooks I've met over the past 10 years at Simpsons
If not yourself, who would you rather have been? Tarzan
Who is in your fantasy brigade? Anton Mosimann (Mosimann's),
Luke Tipping, (Simpsons),
Josef Viola (Daniel et Denise),
Brian Turner (Turners), Alain
Ducasse and William Curley.
