You’ve got Murano and the York & Albany up-and-running in the UK — how’s that all going?

Really well! We opened just before Lehman’s collapsed, so we got in just at the right time.

I think when you finish at a restaurant you’ve been with for seven years, you sort of expect to open your next one at exactly the same state of play and it is hard to step seven years back and think ‘well, this is how it was last time at this stage’. But what is great about Murano and York & Albany is that they both feel as if they’ve been there a while; they’ve really got into their moulds and got it all balanced.

What advice would you offer someone wanting to make it as a chef?

I’d tell them to really make up their mind about what route they want to go. If Michelin’s your ball park, then do your training veering towards that. If you just want to do good local food in a bistro atmosphere then go and work for people who do the best at that. When I look at CVs and see people who started at Heston, then went to work at the Rivington, they’re poles apart as restaurants — you can’t even put them in the same bracket. So what are you flitting towards? Make your mind up!

Working a couple of years in a good hotel kitchen is also great, because you get trained in every area.

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On to the tough questions: Ramsay or Wareing — who would you prefer to have cooking for you?

I’m not answering that one! Well, maybe different occasions — Gordon to do my wedding, Marcus to do my funeral!

No, really they’re both brilliant cooks, and even thought they’ve had their differences I know they’d both say that about the other. Gordon’s sort of a lighter touch, in some respects; his food’s a bit lighter, Marcus’ is slightly heavier. But I’ve learnt loads from both of them, so that’s a really hard question. You’ll get me into trouble with that one!

So what’s next for you?

A book the year after next, which we’re currently working on; we’ve got a couple of TV programmes we might be involved with; there are a few ideas floating around. Restaurant-wise, I’m just happy running the ones I’m running for the moment.

No plans to open anything in this region then?

Not right now. I wouldn’t say no, but I’d do it like Verre — consultancy. I wouldn’t come out here and open a restaurant, but rather put two or three really good people in and run it like that. But definitely, I’d have no issues doing something like that — a nice week’s holiday in the sun four times a year could be good!