Ella Walker discovers MasterChef: The Professionals judge Marcus Wareing's culinary likes and dislikes.
Between his four London restaurants and bars, as well as judging on MasterChef: The Professionals, Marcus Wareing is one busy man.
His last cookbook, New Classics, took on traditional dishes and gave them them a twist, but the chef is still a fan of a traditional roast, even if three meals a day isn't quite a part of his routine...
Your death row meal would be... A roast dinner - roast lamb, roast potatoes, gravy.
The thing you still can't make is... I've never cooked tripe - and I don't want to.
Your favourite store-cupboard essential has to be... Maldon salt.
The kitchen utensil you couldn't live without has to be... A sharp knife.
If you get hungry late at night, the snack you'll reach for is... A cold bar of chocolate, probably Galaxy.
Your signature dish has to be... I don't have one, but I have to say, the one that's lasted longer than anything else is the egg custard tart that I cooked for the Queen. She loved it. It was for her 80th birthday (and it's back on Wareing's lunch menu at The Berkeley, London).
You like your eggs... Fried and runny.
Your favourite childhood dinner was... Roast chicken.
Last night you ate... I didn't - I have quite weird eating habits. I sometimes have days where I don't actually have a meal. I go in kitchens, I pick things up, I taste things, I have lots of coffee, I have a protein drink. I think it has a lot to do with the way I worked when I was growing up through the industry, I never had time for breakfast, I never had lunch, I never had dinner - what I did do was I tasted food all the way through my working day, so I've never been accustomed to sitting down.
I never come to work Monday to Friday thinking, 'OK, when am I going to have a meal?' Or, 'Am I gonna have a lunch break?' That never really registers in my head. At the weekend, that's a different story. I'll eat breakfast and probably dinner - I don't really have three meals a day, unless I'm on holiday.
The ultimate hangover cure has to be... A pint of water, two aspirin, and a good cup of tea somewhere down the line.
You can't stomach... Badly cooked food, especially overcooked vegetables.
New Classics: Inspiring And Delicious Recipes To Transform Your Home Cooking by Marcus Wareing, photography by Jonathan Gregson, is published by HarperCollins, priced £20. Available now.
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