Revelations: Chris Shaw, head chef, Townsend, London

We delve into the life and inner thoughts of a top chef. This week: Chris Shaw, head chef, Townsend, London

 

What was your best subject at school?

 

Business studies, scraped an A* for my A-level

 

What was your first job?

 

Solar panel installation, it was a good laugh, actually

 

What was your first job in catering?

 

Kitchen porter

 

What do you normally have for breakfast?

 

Coffee and a banana usually does the trick, unless my wonderful other half makes me a smoothie

 

Which is your favourite restaurant?

 

Crispin in Spitalfields, London. The food is unreal

 

What’s your favourite hotel?

 

I really like all the Hoxton hotels

 

What is your favourite food?

 

I love simple seasonal food, so probably roast chicken with potatoes and salad. Or pizza, I love pizza

 

Which ingredient do you hate the most?

 

Goats’ cheese by a country mile. It’s so overpowering

 

What do you always carry with you?

 

A positive attitude

 

Which person in catering have you most admired?

 

What Fergus Henderson did for British cuisine and the industry in general cannot go unnoticed

 

Which person gave you the greatest inspiration?

 

My parents have always been extremely supportive and continue to inspire me to this day

 

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

 

*Can’t Buy a Thrill *by Steely Dan

 

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

 

When I was younger I thought I would enjoy teaching and passing on some of my limited knowledge

 

What irritates you most about the industry?

 

The vicious cycle that begins with the astonishing lack of staff, which leads to people picking up more and more work, which inevitably causes them to become tired, leading to them leaving the industry

 

When did you last eat a hamburger?

 

A few days ago, a McDonald’s double cheeseburger if you must know