What was the most memorable moment of the competition?

Sending my dessert. It was the moment when all the stress and pressure were worth it, knowing that I had finished on time and produced three dishes that showcased myself as a chef and the island of Jersey. Networking with the other chefs and the judges was also a highlight.

Local businesses like Cimandis have supported you in your competitions – how important is it to have that backing?

It’s a big part of it, especially coming from a small island. It gives you access to products that you might not be able to source locally and allows you to build relationships with future suppliers.

When did you know you wanted to be a chef? 

From a young age I was fortunate enough to travel often and I think this is where my spark for food initially developed. I love going to different places and experiencing the unique culture and flavour of a place. Being from a small island we’re so fortunate to have some lovely produce that’s totally unique to Jersey, and I love to get this into my dishes as much as possible.

Favourite food memory? 

Going foraging for blackberries on a Saturday as a kid, which would be turned into blackberry crumble the next day. It’s these memories that really bring you back to where it all began.

How do you handle the stress of the kitchen? 

The key is organisation and taking time out of the kitchen to do activities that you enjoy. Personally, I love to fish so this is my way to clear my mind.

Is there an ingredient you’re obsessed with?

Beetroot. It’s such a versatile ingredient and it’s often overlooked. Using the leaves and stems can add a real earthy flavour to a dish and you can achieve numerous different textures with it.

What advice would you give to aspiring chefs?

Don’t be afraid to ask questions and absorb everything; food knowledge is so valuable and the bigger your product knowledge, the more confident you will be. It’s also so important to understand that nothing is personal – if a chef 

tells you there is another way to do something, take it on board.

What’s your goal for the future? 

I’d love to have my own restaurant where I could showcase the best that Jersey has to offer, including fresh seafood, unique produce and some foraged ingredients. This would allow me to really bring nature onto the plate. 

You’ve had an incredibly varied professional background – from graduating with a degree in physics to working as a sound engineer. At what point did you realise the kitchen was calling and you wanted to become a chef?

I was always nerdy about food and have always cooked for friends. It just took a career of mine collapsing to push me towards doing it full time. I didn’t realise how much I loved it until I started training in kitchens. 

What was your favourite  food when you were a child?

I’d try anything, but my favourite food was always Indian, which is probably the same today.  I think that’s because it was the 

food we ate the most as a family.

What is it about charcoal cooking that particularly appeals to you?

I love inconsistency in cooking and fire cooking is full of it. I love the various textures and burnt edges it gives, as well as the sense that it’s something you have to guide and control. 

That’s the key to enjoyment, I think.

Has your relationship with food changed since becoming a chef?

It’s changed massively; you cook with a very different mindset. The biggest change has been how it’s highlighted a lot of problems with our food supply and how we view sustainability.

Your company, symplicity foods, uses fermented vegetables as a ‘clean’ plant-based alternative to meat. What do you make of the current trends in veganism?

I think it’s unfair to judge it harshly as it’s a cuisine that’s only a few years in the making. It’s filling a necessary hole, and in my opinion, it’s being developed by the wrong sort of companies and it needs more chefs and creatives to get involved. Otherwise, the future of food could be written by the wrong people.

What’s the biggest future challenge for chefs?

Reducing meat consumption. We’re terrible at cooking without it and very soon it will be too expensive to use. Actually, it already is, if we cut the subsidies that are keeping it going.

What’s one big change you would love to see in the culinary world?

I’d like people to stop promoting the idea that we can eat what we want when we want. A bigger problem than meat consumption is waste and farming monocrops. We need to do more with less to save our soils.

Which dish brings you the most joy to create and eat?

100% pies. Pies are just such a blank slate as there’s very little that doesn’t work, so as a chef you can go bonkers.

Any advice for young chefs?

Cook as many cuisines as you possibly can and cook high volume, low volume, fine dining and casual dining. There’s so much to learn and the more you do the better chef you’ll become. And the more interesting your food will be. 

What three dishes bring you the most joy?

My favourite is bouillabaisse, which is a dish from Provence in the south of France. If someone told me I was going to die tomorrow that would be my last meal. The second has to be a pig’s trotter with morel mushrooms and sweetbread. The third is a Lièvre à la Royale – a hare, deboned and stuffed with a mix of meats, including foie gras, and cooked in red wine.

I have a lot of favourite dishes, but those would be the three, because you don’t eat them every day – they need a lot of preparation and care. 

You’ve earned three Michelin stars in your career. How did that feel? 

I was very pleased, of course. I was not really cooking for a Michelin star – I was cooking the food I wanted to eat. It was simple food, cooked properly. I was happy, without a doubt, but it didn’t change my feelings on Michelin. If I had to choose between three Michelin stars and a full restaurant, I would go for the full restaurant every time. I’m not mad about Michelin stars.

How did it change your business? 

We were always busy before because we had a small restaurant, just 42 seats. But yes, many customers love going to places with a Michelin star, so it definitely brought lots of people with it. 

Is there a food you’ve never liked?

I cannot eat chillis. I don’t understand why people eat chilli; it kills the food.

Of the culinary stars you trained, who was the greatest challenge?

I’d say no-one was a challenge. 

They had to adapt to me; I never adapted to them. I was the head chef, running a restaurant. It’s like an army in the kitchen – the head chef is the general, the sous chef is the colonel and then you have the troops.

It was a different time, as anyone who wanted experience in cooking had just a handful of restaurants at the top to pick from. Now there are great restaurants all over the country. 

Favourite food memory? 

My grandmother making food when I was a kid. My grandparents were farmers and it was great. If you wanted salad you went outside, cut it, and ate it. My grandfather loved fishing and shooting and he’d shoot a quail or hare and it’d be on the table the next day.

What advice would you give to aspiring chefs?

Work hard, read books, go out to see what’s happening in other restaurants and don’t look at the clock.

Taste your food many times because the difference between good food and bad food can be a pinch of salt. Don’t stay too long in the same place – before I came to England, I never stayed more than seven months in a restaurant, because you learn from moving around. And, of course, enjoy what you’re doing. 

Tell us a bit about yourself

I’m a fishmonger and self-taught chef who’s passionate about quality, sustainability and small details. Along with a group of other talented people, I’ve built the Rockfish group into a 10-site strong restaurant business – and we have a fish supply business, fishing boat and canning business, too! I’ve also written six books and opened a total of 27 restaurants throughout my career.

Name five desserts you just couldn’t live without

SCROPPINO

It’s the perfect digestif! It’s an Italian dessert with vodka, prosecco and lemon sorbet blended together, with black sambuca dropped in at the end.

CRÈME CARAMEL

My friend, chef and restaurateur Henry Harris makes the best one in the 

world – one taste and you’re hooked.  

ICE CREAM

The team at The Seahorse restaurant   in Dartmouth make a wicked salted honey ice cream, served with Pedro Ximénez and sultanas.

TIRAMISU

Coffee, Kahlúa and creamy stuff? Delicious! 

APPLE PIE 

I love apples, spices and melting 

vanilla ice cream. It’s a classic.

If you were stranded on a desert island, what would your three foodie essentials be?

1. Olive oil

2. Anchovies

3. A big plate for all the above!