Revelations: Dorian Janmaat, head chef, the Idle Rocks, St Mawes, Cornwall

What was your best subject at school?

 

Art and design

 

What was your first job?

 

My dad’s sous chef

 

What was your first job in catering?

 

Pizza chef in Penzance

 

What do you normally have for breakfast?

 

Triple espresso

 

What do you do to relax?

 

Go out for a drive and a nice coastal walk. And if the weather isn’t great, Fifa and a few beers

 

Which is your favourite restaurant?

 

I really loved Trinity by Adam Byatt when I visited a few years ago. I still remember the beef tartare with pickled mushrooms and caviar – so good

 

What’s your favourite hotel?

 

MGM Grand in Las Vegas

 

What is your favourite cuisine?

 

Indonesian

 

Which ingredient do you hate?

 

Tripe

 

Are there any ingredients that you refuse to cook with?

 

Food colouring – when it’s overused, it’s just wrong

 

What flavour combinations do you detest?

 

Cheese and cranberry

 

Which person in catering have you most admired?

 

Raymond Blanc. One of the most caring people you will ever meet

 

Which person gave you the greatest inspiration?

 

My Le Manoir mentor Gary Jones

 

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

 

Proper Dutch mayonnaise

 

If not yourself, who would you rather have been?

 

James Hunt, the racing driver

 

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

 

A Formula One driver – but I’m too tall and good looking!

 

What’s your favourite film?

 

Shawshank Redemption – classic

 

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

 

Patrick Swayze in Point Break

 

What’s your favourite book?

 

The only book I’ve ever read: My Story by Steven Gerrard

 

What is your favourite prepared product?

 

Tosazu vinegar – it’s a dashi bonito vinegar