Flash-grilled: Nick Beardshaw
What was your first job?
I worked in my local pub The Rose and Crown sweeping the patio on a Saturday. I eventually got promoted to washing up!
What is your guiltiest food pleasure?
Dominoes American Hot pizza with a can of Neck Oil.
What’s the best restaurant meal you’ve ever had?
Technically has to be The Fat Duck. Next level stuff.
What industry figure do you most admire, and why?
Jason Atherton just for the sheer number of restaurants he continues to open and always at an amazing standard.
If you weren’t in kitchens, what would you do?
Sit at a desk wishing I was in a kitchen.
What is your biggest regret?
Not completing the Triple Chilli Challenge at MEATliquor.
Pet hate in the kitchen?
Pans with bottoms that make the pass dirty!
What’s the oddest thing a customer has said to you?
The pork they had was too ‘piggy’.
What’s the dish you wish you’d thought of?
Crème brulee.
Describe your cooking style in three words
Deliciousness, robust, flavour-led.
Most overrated food?
Cheap truffles. When the are good they are amazing but unfortunately most are just expensive wannabes that are not worth bothering with.
Restaurant dictator for a day – what would you ban?
Ordering off menu dishes!
What’s the worst review you’ve ever had?
Someone once hated the risotto as it didn’t have enough rice in it. It was, in fact, a ‘risotto’ that had no rice in it but was a super fine dice of mushroom that resembled the rice.
If you could cook for anyone in the world who would you pick, and why?
Heston Blumenthal. Just a total legend that has given us so much. Undoubtedly the best chef the UK has ever produced.
What advice would you give someone starting out in the industry?
Stick at it! It will take years of repetition and many, many mistakes to get really good.
Which single item of kitchen equipment could you not live without?
My Rational oven. They are the workhorses of the kitchen.
What do you cook at home on your days off?
All manner of things but always lots of vegetables as I don’t eat enough at work.
What’s your earliest food memory?
Roast dinner at my nan’s with all the trimmings.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
Treat others as you wish to be treated.
What’s the closest you’ve ever come to death?
Er… nothing really that close. Almost lost an eye opening a bottle of cider with a spoon once...
Where do you go when you want to let your hair down?
Day out at the football. Away days preferable so train beers can be had on the way.
Tipple of choice?
Negroni to start the night, Neck Oil for the duration, whisky as a night cap.
What would you choose to eat for your last meal?
A super fat ribeye steak (perfectly cooked and rested) with peppercorn sauce, well seasoned chunky triple cooked chips and Heinz tomato ketchup.
