Revelations: Maura Baxter, executive chef, 65a, London

We delve into the life and inner thoughts of a top chef. This week, Maura Baxter, executive chef, 65a, London

 

What was your best subject at school?

 

Art and home economics

 

What was your first job?

 

Kitchen porter

 

What do you normally have for breakfast?

 

Scrambled eggs with avocado and rye bread, and black coffee

 

What do you do to relax?

 

Wine! But I don’t really have plans right now for relaxing

 

Which is your favourite restaurant?

 

José on Bermondsey Street in London

 

What’s your favourite hotel?

 

Monart hotel and spa in Wexford, Ireland

 

What is your favourite cuisine?

 

French and most classic European cuisines

 

Which ingredient do you hate the most?

 

I’m not a fan of cucumber

 

What flavour combinations do you detest?

 

None really, if done well

 

What is your favourite drink?

 

A glass of a decent Saint-Julien Bordeaux

 

Which person in catering have you most admired?

 

Marco Pierre White

 

Which person gave you the greatest inspiration?

 

A few of the head chefs I worked with along the way

 

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

 

A coffee machine

 

What daily newspaper/website do you read?

 

Irish Independent and The Guardian

 

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

 

A farmer or a grower – something related to great produce

 

When and where was your last holiday?

 

Early last summer in Andalucia, sampling the local cuisine and drinking sherry

 

What irritates you most about the industry?

 

The many and ever-increasing inflationary pressures

 

When did you last eat a hamburger?

 

A month ago

 

If you had more time, what would you do?

 

Spend even more time in the kitchen