Revelations: Richard De La Cruz, group head chef, Arros QD, Fitzrovia, London

What was your best subject at school?

 

Chemistry. I was fascinated by the composition of the things we eat

 

What was your first job?

 

Commis chef, doing breakfast in a five-star hotel

 

What do you do to relax?

 

Spend time with my family, close the curtains and watch movies in the living room with a massive bowl of salty popcorn

 

 

Which is your favourite restaurant?

 

The three-Michelin-starred Quique Dacosta in Dénia, Alicante. It’s always a pleasure to go back home

 

What is your favourite drink?

 

Aperol spritz, but one from Premana, Italy – my wife’s hometown

 

 

What is your favourite food/cuisine?

 

Mediterranean, South American and Chinese food

 

Which ingredient do you hate the most?

 

Synthetic truffle oil

 

Which person gave you the greatest inspiration?

 

Believe it or not, a baby can sometimes give you the best lessons in the world – one of them is how to start every day with a big smile and the best attitude

 

What daily newspaper/website do you read?

 

The Evening Standard on the tube going to work

 

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

 

An orthopaedic mattress – nothing better than sleeping well

 

If not yourself, who would you rather have been?

 

Nikola Tesla

 

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

 

Maybe a plastic surgeon, most probably I’d be somewhere in Africa, doing humanitarian work

 

Tell us a secret...

 

Chickpeas do magic!

 

What irritates you most about the industry?

 

When people take advantage of others – this is something very common in this industry

 

What’s your favourite film?

 

Peter Pan, it always brings back good memories

 

What is your favourite prepared product?

 

Sempio kimchi

 

If you had more time, what would you do?

 

Every single extra minute would be spent with my family

 

Photos: Shutterstock