Revelations: Carl Wild, head chef, the Samling, Windermere, Cumbria

We delve into the life and inner thoughts of a top chef. This week: Carl Wild, head chef at the Samling in Windermere

 

What was your first job?

 

Chef in a small restaurant in my home town in the evenings after catering school

 

What do you do to relax?

 

In my spare time I enjoy trail running and walking in the Lake District mountains with my two boys, my wife and our Jack Russell

 

What’s your favourite hotel?

 

Hotel Arts Barcelona brings me many great memories

 

What is your favourite drink?

 

Mojito while on a beach on holiday

 

What is your favourite food/cuisine?

 

Sushi

 

What do you always carry with you?

 

Micro scales

 

Which person in catering have you most admired?

 

Roberto Holz was my executive chef. He is a great inspirational leader who taught me a lot of organisation and management skills. He gave me the opportunity to work in the best hotel in Spain at a time when I had little experience and terrible Spanish

 

If not yourself, who would you rather have been?

 

Kilian Jornet, an extreme mountain runner. It amazes me to watch how he runs over the tops of the mountains like Everest with no oxygen

 

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

 

I may have gone into sports but I probably wouldn’t have had the opportunity to travel, learn new languages, cultures, cuisines or have met my Catalan wife Patricia

 

Describe your ultimate nightmare?

 

Spending the day shopping

 

When and where was your last holiday?

 

Tarragona in Spain before Covid

 

What irritates you most about the industry?

 

The bad atmosphere and old-school mentality in some kitchens. I believe you must always strive for perfection, treat your team well and enjoy every day

 

What’s your favourite book?

 

Walking the Wainwrights by Graham Uney

 

What is your favourite prepared product?

 

Suquet de Gambas (a red prawn and fish stew)