Revelations: Mark Kempson, head chef, Kitchen W8, London

16 August 2019 by
Revelations: Mark Kempson, head chef, Kitchen W8, London

What was your best subject at school?
Woodwork

What was your first job in catering?
Collecting glasses at a local pub in Hampshire

What do you normally have for breakfast?
Coffee

What do you do to relax?
Spend time with my wife and two boys

Which is your favourite restaurant?
My most memorable meal was at Pierre Gagnaire in Paris, but there are too many great restaurants to pick just one

What's your favourite hotel?

What is your favourite drink?
Dark and Stormy

What is your favourite food?
Shellfish, especially hand-dived scallops - there's nothing else like them!

Which ingredient do you hate the most?
Cinnamon

Are there any ingredients that you refuse to cook with?
I really dislike tinned vegetables

What do you always carry with you?
A picture of my family

Which person in catering have you most admired?
Marc Wilkinson of Restaurant Fraiche in Birkenhead. A truly passionate and dedicated chef

Which person gave you the greatest inspiration?
Ian Pitt, my college lecturer. He showed me the way

If you had not gone into catering, where do you think you would be now?
A carpenter like my grandfather or a mechanic like my dad

When did you last eat a hamburger?
Five Guys, a few months ago, with my two sons

What is your favourite prepared product?
Nardin smoked anchovies

Who would be in your fantasy brigade?
GSF, Pierre, Rossy and big Raymond. Those who know, know

Describe your ultimate nightmare
Not being able to cook

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