When I look at how I cook, my love for flavour is more important than anything else. Taste is just something we never forget. Everyone remembers specific tastes. Whether that was an orange cake from childhood, a rich warming beef stew or a grilled piece of fish slightly charred with lemon juice and olive oil. It just sticks in the mind. Flavours conjure reactions from people, don’t they?

The beauty of putting a meal on the table, cooked at home with little fuss, is one of the best things in life. Crispy roasted guinea fowl with smoked Irish bacon and apple and a soft buttery mashed potato, juicy meat crisp, smokey bacon, creamy soft rich puree, Maybe a little daunting for some, easy for others. The common theme is everybody will have their interpretation of that dish. Their own idea. A recipe will guide you, but there is no real right or wrong. Its how you like it. I will tell you the way to prepare the bird, the way to roast it, the apples, the creamy rich potato, the juices from the pan, but you will be the one who might choose the buttered spring greens, the baby chard salad with Dijon mustard, or the sauteed wild mushrooms with garlic leaves that accompany it.

When I cook for clients I am always surprised at how much I can accomplish in their homes with a small stove and regular kitchen equipment. So what, if you’ve not got a potato ricer? Sod it. Use a fork. Who cares if your puree has a stray lump in it. As long as you’ve got your butter in there or your creme fraiche and olive oil, a little bit of seasoning, that’s what matters. Flavour. Think about the best mashed potato you ever had. Delicious, but also easy.

I love my food. We all love our food. Bright pink rhubarb jelly with cold and creamy thick vanilla custard. Crispy grilled pork with sage and lemon zest. Stewed octopus with chorizo and Rioja. The best thing is you choose what you eat. When you shop for your ingredients, whether its supermarket or farmers market, it’s your choice. These days we can be as selective as we feel when buying our food, whether its home grown vegetables, Welsh salt marsh lamb, fresh mackerel or wild sea bass from the Kent coast. On the other hand the big supermarkets have had to raise their game as we become more aware of what we like, and what we expect from our food. There is so much to choose from and it’s getting better.

Whilst on family holidays as a boy, I was always poking my nose into the hotel kitchens. I knew it was what l wanted to do.

I studied at University in London, and graduated with Degree in History and Literature. Whilst there I realised that as a student I had a lot of spare time on my hands. I started working in restaurants around town to get some cash and indulge my new love affair with the kitchen, and found I was good at it, so I persevered and juggled my time with study and work. I graduated from University, and stuck to my plan to become a chef. I have been lucky enough to work and train with the most humble of cooks to the greatest of the 3 Michelin starred Chefs, Pierre Koffman at ‘La Tante Claire’ in London.

Now as a private Chef, I cook high end modern food in a home setting. Restaurant food in a home setting. Food at home can be often more rewarding than food “at work”. It’s more fun. It’s home. I love cooking and eating at home, around our table. Dishes piled high with grilled meats glistening with lemon juice and herb oils, crispy roasted potatoes with slow roasted garlic, grilled stem artichokes with Parmesan or a steaming dish of Paella with the fat prawns and juicy rabbit chunks poking out with that smokey whiff from the peppers and saffron.

How about a big chunk of prime Aged Scottish Beef Rib? Roasted on the bone and pressed with shallots and butter, sliced thinly and served for two with whatever you fancy. Just the fine shallots and pan juices spooned over those gorgeous slices, perhaps a little watercress and crumbled roquefort. I know what I’m having for dinner tonight...