Chef Revelations – Paul Cunningham
What was your first job in catering?
Cook at the Fleur de Lys pub in Widdington, Essex
What's your favourite drink?
Really good cider or raspberry soda
Which is your favourite restaurant?
Alain Passard's L'Arpège, Paris
What's your favourite hotel?
Rough Luxe on Birkenhead Street or Hazlitts hotel on Frith Street, London
What is your favourite cuisine?
Japanese, Frenchie close second
Which ingredient do you hate the most?
Boiled turnips (I think they taste like sick!)
Who would play you in a film about your life?
The great Ray Winstone
Which person in catering have you most admired?
Alain Passard, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Jamie Oliver
Which person gave you the greatest inspiration?
Marco Pierre White
What's your favourite film?
Escape To Victory
What luxury would you take to a desert island?
A good knife and a supply of really good vanilla ice-cream
If you hadn't gone into catering, what would you be now?
A photographer, most definitely
If not yourself, who would you rather have been?
George Clooney; he seems to have his shit together
Describe your ultimate nightmare
Waking up between Helena Christensen and Nigella Lawson, and not being able to remember anything
Tell us a secret…
I'd like to dress in drag
When did you last have a hamburger?
Last night - I barbecued alone for the first time (the family was on holiday). Hamburguesa Iberico with aged Montgomery Cheddar!
What do you do to relax?
Do the garden and photograph
What's your favourite prepared product?
Marmite, Jelly Babies, and Rossi ice-cream from Southend-on-Sea
Who would be in your fantasy brigade?
Jiro Ono on sushi and sashimi; Jamie Oliver on salads and pasta; Alain Passard on shellfish; Rick Stein on fish; Marco Pierre White on trotters; Fergus Henderson on sweetbreads; Nico Ladenis on lemon tart; and Bar Italia from Frith Street on coffee.
Paul Cunningham, chef-proprietor, Henne Kirkeby Kro, Denmark
