Ask the Expert

Turning up the heat with TV chef Antony Worrall Thompson

On a sunny afternoon, in the bustling kitchen at Thanet College, a familiar face could be seen among the pots, pans, steam and delicious smells cooking up a feast. It’s the UK’s first celebrity chef’s Anthony Worrall Thompson, father of four and former Canterbury school boy who is cooking for lucky few of Thanet’s residents booked in for the colleges celebrity chef gourmet evening.

Will Henderson, a member of Youth Matters editorial board had the chance to ask him a few questions and being a chef himself at Harpers Wine Bar, Margate they had plenty in common:

W: Have you ever been to Thanet before and what do you think of the place?

AWT: I’ve come to Thanet with Gary Rhodes a few times, and it’s a lovely sleepy seaside town.

W: What or who inspired you to become a chef?

AWT: I never learnt to cook from anyone, it was more a case of having to cook for myself when I was young as my parents were actors and were never there so it was either my grandma or an au pair cooking horrid food for me so I decided to give it go myself and I just got stuck into it. But when my grandma found out I wanted to be a chef she thought it was beneath me as a career so i had to take a management course and I didn’t end up chefing until I was 25.

W: What are the main skills to be a good chef?

AWT: You really need a passion for food and a respect for your ingredients. You also need to be able to keep calm under pressure. Of course you do need to learn the classical skills of cookery, to keep reading and learning about the different styles of cooking as well as making sure you eat out in all types of restaurants rather than Macdonalds, so you can keep up to date with the different foods and menus out there.

W: What kitchen gadget couldn’t you live without?

AWT: It would probably be my juicer which I use for fresh juices and sauces on a daily basis. Also it’s vital that every chef has a really good set of knives.

W. If you were planning a midnight feast, what food would you have?

AWT: Well it’s best to share a midnight feast with someone you like, so I’d choose the sort of food you could feed to each other like oysters, prawns and asparagus with a selection of sauces and then some good fresh English strawberries and cream – the perfect finger food.

W: If you could have a cook off with any other chef who would it be?

AWT: I’ve offered Gordon Ramsey the chance to cook against me on Ready Steady Cook but he turned it down – but I think if we had I would have kicked his arse! It’s time we laid down the knives and gave it a go.

Will and his friend Norton, then had a quick photo with Antony before he returned to kitchen to get on with the desserts for the night.