What Tom Aikens fantasises about
Find out what Tom Aikens would eat on a desert island, what his number one piece of kitchen equipment is and what he fantasises about when he's running and thirsty.
How did you decide to become a chef?
From cooking with my mother. I decided at a very early age of about 12, we cooked everything from the garden. My father was in the wine business so we also travelled in France a fair amount. This meant I got used to French cooking at an early age and drinking wine too!
What are you up to at the moment?
I am at the moment putting together a staff manual for the prep work of Toms Kitchen, so the consistency of the product can be perfect.
What are your favourite foods?
A good medium rare steak and rhubarb crumble with custard.
What are your favourite recipes?
Simple ones like Sunday roasts, beef stews and casseroles…
What inspires you when you’re cooking?
The seasons. Oh, and a good diversity of ingredients.
What’s your favourite piece of kitchen equipment?
A thermomix - it’s very versatile.
If you were on a desert island, what would you eat or cook?
Would most likely be fresh fruit, so no cooking involved. Pink juicy grapefruit is what I fantasise about if I am running and I am thirsty.
What’s the latest over-hyped fad we should avoid?
Tuna.
What do you love most about cooking?
Being able to create anything you so wish with no real constraints.
Which suppliers do you think stand out from the crowd?
Small bespoke meat suppliers like Rhug,
What tips would you give to members of lovefood.com?
Always keep it simple don’t go out of your depth, keep with in your boundaries and then you can progress from there.
Tell us a food joke.
This little piggy went to Market.
If you could invite four guests to dinner, living or dead, who would you invite and what would you cook?
Maggie Thatcher, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Lance Armstrong and the legendary Victorian French chef Auguste Escoffier.
Win a cheese recipe bible - signed by me!
In Cooking creatively with cheese, I celebrate 100 years of Long Clawson Dairy. The brand new cookbook, which I created ten new recipes for, is packed with my scrumptious recipes celebrating the cheeses that the world famous dairy produces.
It goes right back through the decades, uncovers Long Clawson’s history piece by piece in each chapter whilst also offering a delicious selection of cheesy recipes typical of each decade, including Bread and Butter Pudding, Broccoli & Stilton Soup and Shepherds Pie.
To win a copy, signed by me, all you need to do is to post a comment below stating which lovefood.com recipe you are planning to cook tonight, and why!
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