Revelations: Anshu Anghotra, executive chef, the Connaught, London

What was your best subject at school?

 

Maths

 

What was your first job?

 

A trainee at Taj Palace in New Delhi

 

What do you normally have for breakfast?

 

Turmeric and ginger tonic and chia

 

What do you do to relax?

 

Long walks in the British countryside when the weather is good, or I watch documentaries with a hot cup of tea

 

Which is your favourite restaurant?

 

Right now, I’m enjoying Brat

 

What’s your favourite hotel?

 

The Temple House in Chengdu, China. One of the most unique, memorable and beautiful experiences I’ve had

 

What is your favourite drink?

 

Negroni by the Connaught bar’s master mixologist Agostino Perrone

 

What is your favourite cuisine?

 

Yunnan cuisine from China

 

Which ingredient do you hate the most?

 

Water caltrop

 

What flavour combinations do you detest?

 

I’ve never warmed to olive oil and ice-cream

 

Which person gave you the greatest inspiration?

 

Raymond Blanc

 

What do you always carry with you?

 

Le Répertoire de la Cuisine – it’s always in my kitchens

 

If not yourself, who would you rather have been?

 

Frank Lloyd Wright

 

Describe your ultimate nightmare?

 

If the world ran out of turmeric!

 

What’s your favourite film?

 

I love all of David Attenborough’s documentaries

 

What irritates you most about the industry?

 

Low salaries are discouraging younger chefs who want to cook to pursue what they love

 

What’s your favourite book?

 

Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson

 

If you had more time, what would you do?

 

I would learn to fly