Revelations: Andrew Birch, executive chef, Ellenborough Park, Cheltenham
What was your best subject at school?
Art – I was able to express my creative side
What was your first job?
Working at my brother-in-law's motorbike salvage place
What was your first job in catering?
Working in small pub in the village of Birchgrove
What do you do to relax?
Spend time with my children, Elizabeth and Albert
Which is your favourite restaurant?
Hakkasan in London
What's your favourite hotel?
Hotel Café Royal
What is your favourite drink?
A Bloody Mary
What is your favourite food?
Simple home-cooked food
Which ingredient do you hate the most?
Pomegranate
Are there any foods/ingredients that you refuse to cook with?
Baby corn – we're not in the 1980s anymore
What flavour combinations do you detest?
Peanut butter and jam
Which person in catering have you most admired?
Andrew Fairlie
Which person gave you the greatest inspiration?
My college lecturer, Mark Allison
Cast away on a desert island, what luxury would you take?
A beanbag
If not yourself, who would you rather have been?
John Wick
If you had not gone into catering, where do you think you would be now?
In the armed forces – the navy
Tell us a secret...
I have patents for three inventions
What irritates you most about the industry?
Young people thinking it will be like a TV show
When did you last eat a hamburger?
Last week – a wild boar burger
What's your favourite film?
Saving Private Ryan
What is your favourite repared product?
Butter
Who is in your "fantasy" brigade?
Phil Howard on the larder, David Everitt-Matthias on pastry, Marco Pierre White on sauce and Gordon Ramsay on garnish
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