Essential ingredients: For me it is the best of British, so that would be Herefordshire beef - the Rolls Royce of the beef world. Morecambe Bay Shrimps too - they are just the best!

First kitchen worked in: It was actually my mother's kitchen. I was head pot washer every night after dinner and especially on Sundays after lunch.

Signature dish: Surf and Turf. It is the perfect combination of my two favourite foods, steak and seafood, all served together on one plate. And if you are at The Wild Boar, it all comes presented on a wooden board.

Food philosophy: Simplicity is the watchword. If you keep it simple and ensure you just use good quality ingredients, cooking them the way they should be cooked, then that way all the natural flavours will be there when you taste the food. But if you mess around with the food and try to change the flavours, then this almost always spoils the taste of the food in my opinion.

Biggest kitchen disaster: Thankfully, by and large I don't have any disasters to report. However I do have lots of opportunities to excel. I did once work in a kitchen that burnt down, but luckily that was some time after I had gone home at the end of my shift. When I came back the next day it was all gone. I should probably add it wasn't anything to do with me!

Favourite chef: To be honest I don't really have one, certainly not a celebrity one. But I suppose if I had to choose someone, my current head chef, Marc Sanders, is a pretty inspirational guy. He has been at The Wild Boar for 22 years as head chef and is still more motivated than many younger chefs coming onto the scene. He is still full of new ideas of improving the range of quality of food we currently have on offer here.

Biggest influence: The biggest influence in my life has come from travelling around the world. You can learn so much from other cultures in all aspects of life and this includes food. The way each country approaches its cooking and different foods I just think is mind blowing and this is why I have chosen to work in many different countries throughout my career.

Favourite meal: The last meal someone else cooked for me is my current favourite. To have someone cooking your food for you, especially when you are a chef, is just great.