Exclusive interview with Gary Rhodes

Youth Matters Hollie and Mike were invited to attend the National Junior Chef competition 2009 and thanks to the Thanet College's marketing team they enjoyed a tasty lunch and got to meet the great chef himself Gary Rhodes, here's what they spoke to him about:

Hollie: My cousin Tom is one of the assistant chef's for the competition and he's training at Thanet College to be a chef - what advice would you give him?

Gary: I would say what ever hard times he gets he got to stick them out.  You've got to stick at it and don't be beaten by anything.  It's important to keep learning new skills and techniques too.  If you had said to me when I was younger that i would be doing what I’m doing –I  would never have believed it - anything is possible.

Hollie: Why do you think the stereotype is for women to be the cooks at home when all the top chefs are men?

Gary: There are lots of great women chefs out there but sometimes women go on to have families and find that the long hours aren't suitable to family life.   Nowdays being a chef is a seen as a good career but it wasn't like that when i started.

Hollie: Out of all your restaurants, which is your fave?

Gary: That's a tricky one, I've got one in the Caribbean and one in Dubai which are probably my favorites ones. 

Hollie: Would you open a restaurant in Thanet?

Gary: I've a great affection for Broadstairs and yes, if someone wanted me to open a restaurant here then they should get in touch!

Hollie: My brother wanted me to ask this one, what products do you use to keep your hair spiky all day?

Gary: Ha! It's not as spiky as it used to be...but basically lots of gell and mousse.

Afterwards Hollie said: "Meeting a celeb such as Gary Rhodes, being able to photograph and interview him at my age, has really inspired me to carry on and pusue this as a career. Gary is a very nice person and really friendly to talk to. I enjoyed meeting him and hope he enjoyed my interview too."

Take a look at the video interview here:

To find out more about catering courses at Thanet College visit http://www.thanet.ac.uk/