"For as long as I can remember – probably the age of 8 or so – my twin brother and I were helping out in the kitchen with my mother" 

Tom Aikens Inspirational Journey

Career Path: College > Commis Chef > Chef de Partie > France > Sous Chef > Youngest British Head Chef to Mintain a Restaurants Second Michelin Star > Opened Own Restaurant Tom Aikens > Opened Second Restaurant Tom’s Kitchen   

My Story My first Job, If we are talking just food related was picking lettuces in glass houses in the summer time when I was 13 years old, if it was a chefs job then In 1986 I joined catering college in Norwich and after a while – when they saw how well we were doing - our parents were very supportive.

Question Time with Tom

How do you feel about creativity in cooking? Do chefs practice an art or a craft?
Food is very personal I think it takes years to get to a level that you are happy with as your food is always evolving and changing, I very much treat food naturally and organic as it is possible, it has to be flowing and almost spiritual. The food has to have a unique style of cooking and presentation which gives you your own identity plus having the freedom to create with no limits or boundaries, words that reveal art and craft and words that come to mind …
Mesmerizing, decadent, unique, expressive, soothing, calming, inspiring, decorative, contemplative, passionate, emotional, irrational, poetic, expressive, awe-striking, personal, meditative, special.Food is very personal I think it takes years to get to a level that you are happy with as your food is always evolving and changing, I very much treat food naturally and organic as it is possible, it has to be flowing and almost spiritual. The food has to have a unique style of cooking and presentation which gives you your own identity plus having the freedom to create with no limits or boundaries, words that reveal art and craft and words that come to mind …Mesmerizing, decadent, unique, expressive, soothing, calming, inspiring, decorative, contemplative, passionate, emotional, irrational, poetic, expressive, awe-striking, personal, meditative, special.

Chef most admired, why?
Pierre Koffmann was and is an exceptional man and I really adored working for him – it was so exhilarating and exciting, there was this buzz of excitement in his kitchen. He was very much a no nonsense kind of man; you were told what to do and got on with it…quietly. With him I really learned speed of service, prep and classical French cooking and also on how to spend money wisely. 
 
What are your favorite flavor combinations?
Fish and chips
Sausage and mash
Toms Kitchen 7hr Lamb
Double Espresso and a big scoop of vanilla ice cream

What is your most important kitchen rule?
Always ask if you are not sure and communication is key.
I think you’ve got to get the communication level right and pitched at the right level. It’s very important to cascade communication in a way that respects supervision but also breeds leadership and respect. My approach is that I remain very hands on but recognise that communication is key to the teams’ success. Sometimes there can be a bit of verbal diarrhoea but I’d rather be overly communicative than not communicating at all.  When I run the service, I’m the one that’s feeding the information so we tend to have a quiet kitchen during service. There doesn’t need to be anyone else talking at key times. In terms of teaching and development, my Sous chefs take an active role which means we share the same message at all points. There has to be chain of command not unlike the army.

Who is the coolest chef you have worked with?
With Joel Robucheon at restaurant Joel Robucheon on Avenue poincaret in 93– the guy was and is a genius. The kitchen was dream like, really exceptional, beautiful . To have what he had at his age was just amazing – 30 chefs in the kitchen, 30 front of house for a 65 cover restaurant. I went there, at the age of 24, to be a chef de partie in arguably the best restaurant in the world I was in heaven
Favorite/most telling interview question?
How did you get into Cooking

Most memorable food moment?
On one particular trip my father booked us into a Michelin Two Star restaurant/Hotel, by complete accident. He only realised the magnitude of what he had booked when we arrived at the hotel to find our car surrounded by four guys wearing white gloves and bow ties, as my father was never one for looking in a guidebook it was all one by word of mouth or a Frenchmen telling him to try this place out.
That evening we had the most amazing meal and it is one of those inspirational gastronomic moments that I will never forget. It was still the era of nouvelle cuisine so tiny portions and lots of courses. The tastes and flavors were stunning. I had the most beautiful tomato salad with simple olive oil, basil, finely diced shallots, course sea salt, pepper and chives: A fillet steak melted in my mouth – a tall tower of beef fillet that had been larded with beef fat, it was sublime and perfection in one, the waiters lifting endless cloche for my parents with course after course, we also had the best chips ever, an accompanying stacked tower of perfectly cooked and cut potato, then for dessert the most memorable vanilla ice cream. The tastes were sensational, I was in heaven and as I say I’ll never forget it.

 To take a look at Tom Aikens mini master classes click HERE