What are the differences between your role as head chef, and Michael Caines’ role as executive chef?
The difference is that Michael has been here for a long time- fifteen years I think- and the food is his food, he created it. The food has evolved from his personality, his own ideals, his background and the people he’s worked with. His food evolves constantly- we’ve just had a load of new dishes go on the menu in the last few months, and you can see the change. I’ve been here three and a half years now, and I can see how Michael’s food is still evolving and it’s becoming more personalised. Yes I do have an influence, because anyone that works in the kitchen will have an influence, but the food is based around Michael; he creates the dishes and we help along the way. So do you get any input in to what goes on the menu? I’ll look at what we’ve got seasonally at the time and what I think are the best ingredients that are coming through. Michael has a repertoire of dishes that he’s created over the years and we’ll look at those and decide which will be best according to those factors, and
