Revelations: Amy Elles, chef-patron, the Harbour Café, Elie, Fife

05 March 2021

What was your best subject at school?

Art, our teacher was cool and appreciated my sense of humour

What was your first job?

When I was seven I worked at my dad's hairdressers in Pimlico, London, where I washed the client's hair while standing on stacks of Yellow Pages

What was your first job in catering?

My mum had a PR company, Network Promotions. I helped out at the Good Food Show when I was 15

What do you normally have for breakfast?

A soft-boiled egg, tomatoes, pickled herring and toasted rye bread... and lots of good coffee

Which is your favourite restaurant?

Toula's in Agni, Corfu

What is your favourite hotel?

The President Suite at Gleneagles

What is your favourite drink?

A Negroni or good Champagne

Which ingredient do you hate the most?

Battery chickens

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

My Indian spice tin from my husband and business partner Jack

What flavour combinations do you detest?

Basil and coffee

Which person in catering have you most admired?

Raymond Blanc

If not yourself who would you rather have been?

An SAS soldier

What irritates you most about the industry?

That you never know or hear about some of the best, most interesting and hardworking chefs

Who would play ‘you' in a film about your life?

Mila Kunis, then Michelle Williams, followed by Rachel Weisz

Who would be in your fantasy brigade?

My husband Jack; my sister Sarah; Jack Baldwin, chef at army barracks Leuchars; scientist Lorena Munoz; Flora Hilleary, owner of Hame on Skye; and chef Dave Tomlinson, last seen in Hong Kong at the Press Room

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