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Square Meal Selections

Celebrity Interviews & Profiles

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The chef and owner of Pollen Street Social, Little Social and Social Eating House chats about his favourite place to flash the cash, his love of Hong Kong dumplings and where to get the best pork pies in London.

Interview with Rotunda’s Nicky Foley

Nicky Foley, the new head chef at Rotunda in King’s Cross, talks to Square Meal about his Irish upbringing, why a footballing career was a no-go, and running out of turkey on Christmas Day.

Starter for 10: interview with Tom Sellers

25-year-old chef Tom Sellers has had a stellar career to date, working at big-ticket restaurants such as Noma, Per Se and Tom Aikens. As he prepares to launch his own restaurant, Story, he tells Square Meal a few of his own.

Starter for 10: interview with James Ferguson

James Ferguson will head up the kitchen at Beagle when it opens in Hoxton next month. The 33-year-old Yorkshire-born chef talks to Square Meal about classical music, ‘ball-breaking’ chefs, and why Marmite should be banned.

Starter for 10: interview with Nathan Outlaw

Although Nathan Outlaw grew up in Kent, he is more often associated with Cornwall: his eponymous two-Michelin-starred flagship and the more casual Outlaw’s Seafood & Grill are both located in Rock; Academy Nathan Outlaw at Cornwall College opened earlier this year; while a new venture in Looe will launch in 2013. In October, the chef opened his first London restaurant: Outlaw’s Seafood & Grill at The Capital, in Knightsbridge. Square Meal met the Mr Motivator of cookery – a chef with a 20-year plan – to talk sustainability, sun-worshipping and practical jokes.

Starter for 10: interview with Tom Kitchin

A familiar face on TV, Tom Kitchin opened his own restaurant – The Kitchin in Leith, Edinburgh – in 2006. A Michelin star soon followed and the venue was also voted the BMW Square Meal Best UK Restaurant for 2011. Square Meal caught up with the Scottish chef to get the lowdown on the Edinburgh food scene, maintaining a work-life balance and why frozen steak pies drive him nuts.

Starter for 10: interview with Sanjay Dwivedi

Sanjay Dwivedi, head chef at Peruvian restaurant Coya – the third of a wave of South American newcomers in London this year – is perhaps best known for his time as chef-patron at Kensington’s Indian stalwart Zaika. Dwivedi talks Square Meal through what diners can expect at Coya, recounts a disastrous evening with foie-gras parfait, and entertains with tales of his rock-and-roll past.

Starter for 10: interview with April Bloomfield

Square Meal speaks to Birmingham-born chef April Bloomfield, who made her name bringing the gastropub concept to New York with celebrated Big Apple haunt The Spotted Pig, and who this week will return to the UK for a two-day cooking stint at St John Hotel, from 30-31 October.

Starter for 10: interview with Magnus Nilsson

Magnus Nilsson is chef-patron of Fäviken, a 12-seater restaurant located in the remote village of Jämtland in north-west Sweden. The restaurant, voted number 34 in the S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Awards 2012, is celebrated for its imaginative use of foraged native produce and its approach to nature, both at the table and in terms of its location. Square Meal caught up with Nilsson and discussed the importance of free time, his link with Noma, and his take on ‘New Nordic cuisine’.

Kitchen Confidential: Polpetto’s Florence Knight

Florence Knight, head chef at Polpetto, talks Stuart Peskett through the kitchen of her Soho home.

Big in Japan: interview with Yoshihiro Murata

He’s the master of traditional kaiseki Japanese haute cuisine and the apple of Michelin’s eye but chef Yoshihiro Murata is now intent on conquering London. Square Meal finds out more about the launch of Chrysan in the City.

Starter for 10: interview with Alvin Leung

Self-proclaimed ‘demon’ chef Alvin Leung is a mould-breaker. He trained and worked as a sound engineer until the age of 43, but became a chef after cooking at a friend’s pop-up restaurant in Hong Kong in 2003. In 2005, he opened his first restaurant, Bo Innovation; in 2009, the restaurant was awarded two Michelin stars. It has since climbed to number 52 on the S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best list and has made Leung known for his boundary-pushing ‘X-treme Chinese’ cuisine, which combines traditional Chinese recipes with modern cooking techniques. The British-born chef talks to Square Meal about his forthcoming Mayfair restaurant, Bo London, plus condoms, tattoos, feng shui – and doing things his way.

Kitchen Confidential: Phil Howard

Phil Howard, chef/proprietor of The Square in Mayfair, talks Stuart Peskett through the kitchen of his Barnes home

Starter for 10: interview with Mikael Jonsson

Former lawyer and food blogger Mikael Jonsson has been in the headlines since opening Chiswick-based Hedone last year, as much for being stabbed in his restaurant as for the critical acclaim that greeted his food. Square Meal caught up with the Swedish chef, who revealed the secrets of his 70-day aged beef, why food bloggers aren't important, and how the attack has left him injured for life.

Starter for 10: interview with Nicola Horlick

‘Superwoman’ Nicola Horlick made a huge impression on the City when she became the director of a major bank aged just 28; since then, she’s raised a brood of children and turned her hand to film producing, all the while keeping up with her day job of fund management. Her latest project is a neighbourhood restaurant in Barnes, opening this week, in memory of her eldest daughter, who died in 1998. Horlick talks to Square Meal about the origins of the restaurant, her confidence that it will succeed, and her top destinations for a power lunch.

Interview with Jeremy Lee

Although acclaimed by chefs and critics, Jeremy Lee has always been something of a best-kept secret. But with a move to Quo Vadis in Soho, the charismatic Scotsman is stepping into the limelight, says Ben McCormack.

Interview with Mugaritz’s Andoni Aduriz

Mugaritz, in San Sebastián, is one of the most prestigious restaurants in the world – it has two Michelin stars and was ranked number three in the 2011 S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best awards. With the 2012 awards looming tonight, and Noma having topped the list for the past two years, all eyes will be on the top three restaurants – Noma, El Celler de Can Roca, and Mugaritz – to see whether the judges will crown a new number one. Square Meal talked to Mugaritz’s Andoni Aduriz (pictured) about the 50 Best awards, his chances of winning, and his new book.

Starter for 10: interview with Ollie Dabbous

London’s hottest chef right now is 31-year-old Ollie Dabbous. His self-named Fitzrovia restaurant has had the critics swooning since opening in January, and dinner is fully booked until September. Square Meal meets the chef of the moment to find out what he thinks about all the fuss, as well as his opinions on everything from bloggers to the ‘best’ restaurants in the world.

Starter for 10: interview with Anna Hansen

Anna Hansen opened The Providores with Peter Gordon in 2001 before setting up on her own with The Modern Pantry in Clerkenwell in 2008. She tells Square Meal the truth about fusion food, her guilty food pleasure, and why shouting is a no-no in her restaurant.

Starter for 10: interview with Virgilio Martinez

At the start of the year, Square Meal tipped Peruvian food – and South American cuisine in general – as one of the big trends for 2012. May will see the launch of Lima, a London venture spearheaded by Virgilio Martinez, whose Lima-based restaurant, Central, is a big deal in his native Peru. Square Meal caught up with Martinez to find out what Londoners can expect from his new restaurant.

Interview with Raymond Blanc

Raymond Blanc OBE has judged the ‘sustainable fish’ category of the City of London Corporation’s Sustainable City Awards 2012, whose winners are to be announced on 1 March. A passionate campaigner for ethical food practices for nearly two decades, Blanc was a pioneer of the sustainable fish movement, and his two-Michelin-starred restaurant Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons was the first Michelin-rated establishment to be accredited by the Marine Stewardship Council. Square Meal asked the French chef for his take on sustainability issues in the restaurant world.

Interview with Ferran Adrià

Ferran Adrià, the powerhouse behind El Bulli, which won the title of World’s Best Restaurant a record-breaking five times, has not rested on his laurels since the restaurant closed in June this year. First up is a new cookbook, detailing the ‘normal recipes for normal people’ that the kitchen team would cook for its daily sit-down lunch. The chef is also transforming his restaurant into the El Bulli Foundation, a centre of learning and experimentation with cuisine, which will open in 2014. And a Hollywood movie is in the pipeline, which will bring to life the story of Adrià’s restaurant. The iconoclast chef talked to Square Meal about his life and work.

Starter for 10: interview with Wolfgang Puck

CUT opens today at 45 Park Lane, The Dorchester Collection’s boutique hotel. Square Meal caught up with Wolfgang Puck, the brains behind the high-end steak restaurant (which has branches in Las Vegas and Beverley Hills), to find out more about the new branch in London. He talked celebrities, serving steak at the Oscars party, and why he can’t carry macaroons in his hand luggage.

Interview with Francesco Mazzei

L’Anima’s Francesco Mazzei talked to Square Meal about his latest venture – L’Anima Café, set to open in London next summer. The charismatic chef also let rip about the ‘shocking’ Italian food he encountered when he first came to the UK, the hell of ‘plastic’ crabsticks, and why you should always wash a chopping board before using it.

Interview with Pierre Gagnaire

Pierre Gagnaire, ‘executive master chef’ at Sketch on Mayfair’s Conduit Street, talks to Square Meal about the differences between France and England, including the produce, the press and the punters.

Kitchen Confidential: Angela Hartnett

Angela Hartnett talks Square Meal through the kitchen of her home, a five-storey Georgian house in Spitalfields, east London that she’s lived in for the last seven years with her sister and her Jack Russell, Alfie. The chef patron of Murano also tells us about her favourite gadgets and the memories they hold.

Let’s do lunch: Dermot O’Leary

TV’s Dermot O’Leary talked to Square Meal about the Fishy Fishy brasserie chain he co-owns with two friends, his film projects, and how Simon Cowell really is a nice guy. Here are 10 facts you might not know about the X-Factor presenter.

Starter for 10: interview with René Redzepi

Great Dane René Redzepi, of World’s Best Restaurant Noma, came to town to take part in Taste of London. He found time to tell us more about himself, and revealed that he’s a big hippy, appreciating the simple things in life, preaching peace in the kitchen and running his team as one big happy family.

The Playboy Club soft launches: interview with Judy Joo

The new Playboy Club officially launches in London on Saturday 4 June, and is soft opening all this week. The private members’ club will include a casino, a nightclub, a cocktail bar and a restaurant. We caught up with executive chef and star of Iron Chef UK Judy Joo (pictured, right) to talk about the food, the feel and those 'demure' Playboy bunnies.

Starter for 10: interview with Angela Hartnett

Seven months after buying restaurant Murano from Gordon Ramsay Holdings, things are looking rosy for Britain’s most famous female chef, Angela Hartnett. July sees the publication of her second cookbook, A Taste of Home, and she found time out from her busy schedule to talk about home life with us, including her love of ready-salted crisps and Italians’ worst habits.

Starter for 10: interview with Tom and Ed Martin

Brothers Tom and Ed Martin, owners of London gastropubs including The Botanist on Sloane Square, The Cadogan Arms in Chelsea and The Gun in Docklands, are set to open two new City venues this summer – a restaurant and a gastropub – both on Chiswell Street. The pair talked to Square Meal about childhood memories of mock turtle soup, their working relationship, and the celebrity siblings they most resemble.

Starter for 10: interview with José Pizarro

Spanish chef José Pizarro, formerly of Tapas Brindisa, is about to open his first solo venture – a laid-back tapas and sherry bar on Bermondsey Street called José. With preparations under way for a mid-May launch, he talked to Square Meal about his project, and revealed a bit about himself along the way: from his love of the simple things in life, such as roast dinners and his mum’s tomato soup, to the roadside snack that really turns his stomach.

Starter for 10: interview with Daniel Boulud

Superstar chef Daniel Boulud touched down in London just for a few days to celebrate the first anniversary of Bar Boulud at The Mandarin Oriental. He took time out of the kitchen – and his busy schedule – for a chat with Square Meal. Read about the Lyon-born chef’s plans for a career in horseracing, how he cooked for the French president and his thoughts on Gummi bears – and find out who has a man crush on him.

Quick-fire interview with Jason Atherton

The launch of Jason Atherton’s Pollen Street Social is gearing up to be the year’s biggest event since Dinner-by-Heston-mania gripped the nation’s foodies in January. Square Meal grabbed a quick chat with the ex-Maze star in the run-up to the debut night of his first solo project to ask him about the highs and lows of such a venture, and what diners can expect on 18 April when the doors to Mayfair’s hottest destination are thrown open.

Starter for 10: interview with Peter Gordon

Kiwi chef Peter Gordon has had a busy few months. In January, he launched fusion restaurant Kopapa, in Covent Garden. Earlier this month, his charity event, Who’s Cooking Dinner? – where some of London's top chefs cook for the highest bidding table – raised nearly half a million pounds for Leuka, an organisation that funds research into leukaemia. Square Meal got the low-down on what makes this unstoppable chef tick, from the joys of Elizabeth David to the horror of poached beef with kiwi-fruit salsa.

Starter for 10: Jean-Georges Vongerichten

Although Jean-Georges Vongerichten is one of the kings of the New York dining scene, over in London he’s best known for his Knightsbridge restaurant Vong at The Berkeley, which closed in 2003. Vongerichten’s long-awaited comeback took place in February with the launch of Spice Market. Square Meal caught up with the French-born chef and found out why turtle jelly, fried ants and deer-antler shavings will definitely be off the menu.

Starter for 10: interview with Silvena Rowe

Silvena Rowe certainly had a lot to talk about when Square Meal met up with her. The cookery author, food columnist, TV cook, consultant and soon-to-be chef-patron of Quince at The May Fair Hotel has managed to pack a lot into life, and shows no signs of slowing down. Read straight-talking Silvena’s take on celebrity, what she thinks of ‘greasy doner kebabs’, and the real reason she can never go without dessert.

Starter for ten: interview with Heston Blumenthal

Ever wondered what makes Heston Blumenthal tick? Square Meal caught up with the chef of the moment and subjected him to a burst of quick-fire questioning. Read about explosive misadventures in the kitchen of The Fat Duck, Heston’s love of pork pies, and his thoughts on which is the best restaurant accolade to win. Look out for an in-depth interview with Heston in the Spring issue of Square Meal Lifestyle magazine, where he talks about Dinner, his mad professor image and that Christmas pudding.

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