Flash-grilled: Rob Taylor
What was your first industry job?
My mum and dad owned a restaurant on the Kent coast, and I started helping in the kitchen when I was eleven.
If you weren’t in kitchens, what would you do?
I’ve never known anything but cooking and hospitality but if I wasn’t in restaurants, I would probably be in the armed forces.
What industry figure do you most admire, and why?
Nathan Outlaw. I admire his style, the simplicity and the respect given to the ingredients.
Pet hate in the kitchen?
Laziness and cutting corners.
What’s the oddest thing a customer has said to you?
The constant marriage proposals will never not be odd!
Sum up your cooking style in a single sentence…
Classic flavour combinations that are tasty and not pretentious.
What’s the worst review you’ve ever had?
Maybe the most ridiculous was that the drive to get to us was too long…
What advice would you give someone starting out in the industry?
Keep your head down, listen, learn and be honest; if you need help, ask for it.
Which single item of kitchen equipment could you not live without?
Can I have two? My Blok knives and Robata Grill.
What would you choose to eat for your last meal?
Probably Nando’s.
À la carte or tasting menu?
Tasting menu.
What’s the best meal you’ve ever had in a restaurant?
The tasting menu at Le Manoir.
Most overrated food?
Foie Gras.
Restaurant dictator for a day – what would you ban?
Rude customers.
What’s your earliest food memory?
My mum cooked a pudding every night, classics such as apple crumble and bread and butter pudding.
Twitter or Instagram?
Instagram.
Where do you go when you want to let your hair down?
I love going to eat out – fine dining or cheap and cheerful, I just love the whole experience of restaurants.
What do you consider your signature dish?
Many variations of slow braised ox cheek, which I love paired with a mustard clotted cream.
