Revelations: Dan Pelles, head chef, Coal Office, London

We delve into the life and inner thoughts of a top chef. This week: Dan Pelles, head chef, Coal Office, London

 

What was your best subject at school?

 

History

 

What was your first job?

 

Delivering vegetables when I was 12

 

What was your first job in catering?

 

Washing dishes at a local restaurant in Tel Aviv when I was 13 years old

 

What do you normally have for breakfast?

 

A glass of water

 

Which is your favourite restaurant?

 

Kol, a Mexican restaurant in Marylebone, where I live

 

What’s your favourite hotel?

 

1 Brooklyn Bridge, New York

 

What is your favourite drink?

 

A Mezcal Paloma

 

What is your favourite food?

 

Spaghetti with tomato sauce

 

Are there any foods/ingredients that you refuse to cook with?

 

Bluefin tuna

 

What do you always carry with you?

 

A sharp knife

 

How would you describe your desk?

 

A milk crate in our dry storage area

 

Which person gave you the greatest inspiration?

 

Michael Jordan

 

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

 

A tin of caviar

 

What daily newspaper/website do you read?

 

Haaretz for Israeli news and The New York Times

 

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

 

Something in agriculture

 

When and where was your last holiday?

 

I recently went to Barcelona to celebrate my wife’s birthday

 

Tell us a secret...

 

I iron my socks!

 

What irritates you most about the industry?

 

The lack of understanding about what it takes to be successful

 

Who would play “you” in a film about your life?

 

Daniel Day-Lewis

 

What is your favourite prepared product?

 

Prosciutto

 

If you had more time, what would you do?

 

Spend more time with my wife