Chef revelations: Toby Burrows, head chef, Elystan Street, London

**What was your first job? **

 

Dairy farmer

 

**What was your first job in catering? **

 

I was a pot washer at 14

 

**What do you normally have for breakfast? **

 

Protein oats and banana

 

**What do you do to relax? **

 

I take my mates rock climbing, followed by a boozy lunch and a big night on the town

 

**Which is your favourite restaurant? **

 

Tom Brown’s Cornerstone in London’s Hackney Wick

 

**What’s your favourite hotel? **

 

The Belmond Cadogan in Chelsea, home to Adam Handling’s restaurant, which is so much fun

 

** What is your favourite drink? **

 

At the moment… two parts San Pellegrino, one part fresh lime juice and one part vodka. It’s my new tipple

 

** What flavour combinations do you detest? **

 

Vegetables that have no place being in a dessert

 

**What do you always carry with you? **

 

A small knife with a sheath, which is in my pocket at all times at work. I must use it more than 100 times every day. It’s the most useful thing in a kitchen

 

** Which person in catering have you most admired? **

 

Phil Howard. I’ve been with him for seven years!

 

** Cast away on a desert island, what luxury would you take? **

 

Someone to play with

 

** What daily newspaper/website do you read? **

 

I’m not that cultured

 

**If not yourself, who would you rather have been? **

 

I have a pretty good time, but I think Leonardo DiCaprio has a better one!

 

** If you had not gone into catering, where do you think you would be now? **

 

Probably an actor or a Royal Marines commando

 

**Tell us a secret... **

 

I have no secrets. I’m far too open and honest for my own good and I’ll tell anyone anything. For instance, I too often polish off a family-size box of Maltesers on my own