Chef Name: Ollie Dabbous
Age: 39
Title: Co-founder & Executive Chef, Hide Restaurant
Awards:
1 Michelin Star: 2019, 2020
GQ Restaurant of the Year, 2019
Food & Travel: Best Newcomer, 2019
Hardens: Best Newcomer, 2019
London Restaurant Awards: Best Restaurant, 2019
Restaurant Magazine: Best Wine List, 2019
Best Non-Fiction Book Design, Dabbous: The Cookbook, 2014
ES1000, 2014 – Present
How old were you when you started cooking professionally?
I had holiday jobs whilst still studying, from the age of 15. My first long-term job was at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, which I started on my 20th birthday.
What’s your earliest and fondest first memory of food?
I remember eating flatbreads cooked roadside in Kuwait as a young boy.
Which chefs inspire you most and why?
Raymond Blanc has been a huge influence and support for me. The purity of flavour of his cooking, and the lust for life of the man himself are both inspirational. He is everything you want him to be when you meet him in person.
What are your two favourite cookbooks and why?
Raymond Blanc’s Mange. This is one of his lesser-known books, but it explains the science behind achieving lightness, and was quite ahead of its time when it was published.
Clorfilia by Andoni Luis Aduriz, because it portays a plant-based beautiful minimalism.
Which two ingredients could you not live without?
Lemon verbena and smoked butter.
What is your favourite comfort food to cook at home?
Meatballs!
If you could eat at any Michelin star restaurant in the world today, where would it be and why?
The Lord Stanley in San Francisco. Some mates of mine set it up. It looks lovely, and sadly I have still never been.
And who would you take as your guest?
My wife and son.
What do you look for in a good chef?
Drive, honesty, curiosity and intelligence.
What advice would you give to chefs starting their career paths now?
Either commit fully or don’t bother. Stay somewhere long-term to learn the basics. Subjugate your social life for your professional one to progress; there are no rewards without sacrifice. Concentrate on building your skills not your followers. Talent is rare. Work ethic even more so.
Chef Ollie Dabbous is Chef/Patron of Hide Restaurant
Website: www.hide.co.uk
Address: 85 Piccadilly, Mayfair, London
Telephone: +44 20 3146 8666
Instagram: @hide_restaurant
mymuybueno Visits: HIDE