Revelations: Kostas Papathanasiou, head chef, No 5 Social, London
What was your best subject at school?
Physics
What was your first job?
Apprentice chef at the Ashford hotel in the Republic of Ireland
What do you normally have for breakfast?
What do you do to relax?
Rowing and running
Which is your favourite restaurant?
The Ledbury
What's your favourite hotel?
The Ned
What is your favourite drink?
A classic Old Fashioned
What is your favourite cuisine?
I love all south-east Asian food
Which ingredient do you hate the most?
Liquorice - I can't stand it
What flavour combinations do you detest?
I'm open to trying different combinations as I think it helps when developing a new menu, like I did for No 5 Social
Which person in catering have you most admired?
Thomas Keller
Which person gave you the greatest inspiration?
James 'Jocky' Petrie, currently group executive development chef at Gordon Ramsay, but I worked with him at the Fat Duck. He's inspirational and a great chef
Cast away on a desert island, what luxury would you take?
A snorkel
Describe your ultimate nightmare?
Our kitchen before we had our refurb. Now we've changed the layout, I don't know how we worked in it before
When and where was your last holiday?
The Lake District a month ago. I love getting outside London to hike and be close to nature
What's your favourite film?
Pulp Fiction
Who would play "you" in a film about your life?
Tom Hardy, if I could pick anyone
What is your favourite prepared product?
Kewpie mayonnaise
Who would be in your "fantasy" brigade?
Heston Blumenthal, Anthony Bourdain, Thomas Keller and Ferran AdriÁ
Continue reading
You need to be a premium member to view this. Subscribe from just 99p per week.
Already subscribed? Log In