Q&A Sat Bains

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Sat Bains, Michelin-starred Chef Proprietor, cookbook collector

The cookbook that has most influenced your cooking

White Heat by Marco Pierre White. Looking back on it now, it’s just a perfect snapshot of where British gastronomy was at that moment in time. Marco was the original ‘enfant terrible’ and the images of him and the food taken by Bob Carlos Clarke are just iconic

Most memorable food you ate in childhood

My Mum’s minced lamb Keemah with peas. Still love it

Your favourite food shop

Waitrose – spend ages in the place

Most memorable meal in  film/literature/painting

All the dishes made by Remy the rat in Ratatouille

Your worst kitchen disaster

It was me. Was making a crème anglais in a Theromix and opened it up to taste. Turned the thing back on, forgetting to replace the lid and ended up with a circle of cream covering me, the chefs, the ceiling, walls and surfaces. I couldn’t have made any more mess if I’d tried – 3 minutes before service

The first thing you taught your children to cook/ or were taught yourself

Chicken Champignon. First complete thing I learned to cook at college and the first thing too I ever cooked for Amanda – way before we were married and were really young

What would you like your final meal to be?

A well aged ribeye steak, freshly made Bearnaise sauce, Heston’s original Triple Cooked Chips and a simple tomato and onion salad

What is your secret talent [in or out of the kitchen]?

Doodling. I love it and am very accomplished

What did you eat for breakfast today?

A green juice – broccoli, kale, celery, apple – that is before I got to work and hit the biscuits and tea and eggs and bacon…

Which seasonal food do you most look forward to?

Ceps. The smell and taste – raw or cooked. They’re just that smell and taste of autumn

Over-rated/ under-rated food/seasoning/gadget

Over rated for me is lobster and langoustine. I do like them but don’t get the hype

Under rated is game. All game. We don’t eat enough of the stuff here. Its so diverse and such a natural lean protein in season


Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms, Lenton Lane, Nottingham, tel 0115 9866 566, restaurantsatbains.com