Revelations: Graham Squire, head chef, the Lickfold Inn

What was your first job?
Apprentice chef at Claridge's

 

What do you do to relax?
I forage for and grow herbs

 

What's your favourite hotel?
Claridge's, but I'm biased

 

What is your favourite drink?
Gin and tonic made with Monkey 47 or Slingsby rhubarb gin

 

What is your favourite cuisine?
To cook: old-school French; to eat at home: Asian

 

Which ingredient do you hate the most?

 

Are there any foods that you refuse to cook with? If so, why?
Cottage cheese â€" it’s all kinds of wrong

 

What flavour combinations do you detest?
None (maybe nutmeg and cottage cheese)

 

Which person in catering have you most admired?
Adam Byatt of Trinity in Clapham, London

 

If you had not gone into catering, what would you be now?
A gardener

 

Which person gave you the greater inspiration?
Both my father and grandfather

 

Describe your ultimate nightmare?
A room full of people on their mobile phones â€" especially at the dinner table

 

Tell us a secret…
Pine is a great seasoning if it’s dried out into a powder â€" it has a vibrant, lemony flavour

 

What irritates you most about the industry?
Social media â€" everything is posted or tweeted. People think they can cook by following what other restaurants are doing, but they haven’t learned the craft
of the trade or the basics

 

What’s your favourite film?
Blades of Glory

 

What is your favourite prepared product?
Smoked and brined peppers

 

If you had more time, what would you do?
Spend more time with my daughter, keep bees, and decorate the house