Revelations: Yousuf Mohammed, head chef, Tsaretta Spice, Twickenham

We delve into the life and inner thoughts of a top chef. This week: Yousuf Mohammed, head chef, Tsaretta Spice, Twickenham

 

What was your best subject at school?

 

I was very fond of physics. I liked experimenting, which has helped me in the kitchen

 

What was your first job?

 

A sales executive at a private firm

 

What was your first job in catering?

 

I was a trainee chef with my father

 

What do you normally have for breakfast?

 

Boiled or scrambled eggs with brown bread and a hot cup of tea

 

What do you do to relax?

 

Read

 

Which is your favourite restaurant?

 

I love Bombay Brasserie

 

What’s your favourite hotel?

 

I find the Taj Group of hotels very exciting, the royalty served there amazes me

 

What is your favourite drink?

 

Fresh lime soda. All-time favourite

 

What is your favourite cuisine?

 

I love French delicacies

 

Which ingredient do you hate the most?

 

Being a chef I love spices, but star anise has a very strong flavour which can be hit or miss

 

Are there any foods/ingredients that you refuse to cook with?

 

I try to avoid frozen food

 

Which person in catering have you most admired?

 

Chef Vineet Bhatia

 

Which person gave you the greatest inspiration?

 

My father

 

If not yourself, who would you rather have been?

 

I would be a panda who sleeps the whole day and still everyone would love me

 

Tell us a secret...

 

I am scared of cats

 

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

 

Maybe a software engineer

 

Describe your ultimate nightmare?

 

That I couldn’t attend my mother’s funeral because of Covid

 

What’s your favourite film?

 

Titanic is one I can watch again and again

 

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

 

Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan –I love his acting

 

What’s your favourite book?

 

I Too Had A Love Story by Ravinder Singh

 

If you had more time, what would you do?

 

I would have relaxed more and gone on a world tour