Revelations: Taiji Maruyama, head chef at the Dining Room, Beaverbrook, Leatherhead, Surrey

What was your first job in catering? I was a kitchen porter and commis vegetable prep

 

What was your first job? A chef at Sushi Kaiseki restaurant in Tokyo

 

What do you normally have for breakfast? Boiled egg and soldiers

 

Which is your favourite restaurant? Ginza Kojyu and Nihonryori RyuGin in Tokyo, and the Clove Club and the Ledbury in London

 

What's your favourite hotel? The May Fair hotel, London

 

What do you do to relax? I play golf

 

What is your favourite cuisine? Italian and Spanish

 

What is your favourite drink? A pint of Guinness

 

Which ingredient do you hate the most? Onion

 

What flavours do you detest? Smoking things when it is not necessary

 

Are there any ingredients that you refuse to cook with? None. Even if I don't like an ingredient, I will try my best to cook it so it's delicious. I respect every ingredient

 

What do you always carry with you? A watch

 

How would you describe your desk? I don't have one, but my pass is always immaculate

 

Which person in catering have you most admired? Nobu Matsuhisa at Nobu; Toru Okuda at Ginza Kojyu; and Seiji Yamamoto at Nihonryori RyuGin

 

Cast away on a desert island, what luxury would you take? Sweet adzuki bean dessert

 

What daily newspaper/website do you read? BBC

 

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

 

Describe your ultimate nightmare? Zombies

 

When and where was your last holiday? Disneyland Paris with my family