Introducing Chef Ben Quinn, Dad, husband, surfer and private chef in Cornwall. Ben has a career that spans the UK and Australia as well as a coveted role as a Trainer at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen in 2009. He went out on his own offering Private Chef services in 2010 and provides them in a non-traditional setting which would be considered a ‘food experience’ rather than just a meal. Read more about Ben’s style and approach towards being a Private Chef.
Ben after many years cooking commercially and then as a trainer for Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen, you then went out on your own to provide true food experiences for people as a Private Chef. What was your main motivation to take that direction?
My main motivation was to give a service that I felt was going to be true to what I love about cooking. Private chefing is for me that great balance of service, food and experience that I craved to get right in a restaurant setting.
Your services include ‘Catch & Cook’ where you take clients out to fish for their food, do you do other non water based food activities also?
I also offer a ‘cook together, eat together’ service. This is a crossover of teaching and eating. A typical day might involve buying fish at market, learning how to clean and prepare the fish, then cooking it to perfection and finishing it off with a meal for us all to enjoy.
What is the most amazing/interesting or just plain weird experience you have had with a client when cooking for them?
Offers of marriage! For me, as a chef, it always amazes me how interesting guests find tasks we do every day in kitchens around the world! One particular client couldn’t get enough of rolling pasta! To this day I still receive updates as to how they are getting on with different filled pastas.
Who in the industry is your favourite Chef?
I look up to chefs like Yotam Ottolenghi. My aspiration for my food is to cook simply with confidence in my ability and produce.
What’s one piece of advice you valued receiving in your career?
Love what you do because if you are going to plough 60 hours a week plus into it otherwise it would be a waste of a life!
What tip/s would you give to those who are looking to be a Private or Personal Chef?
Be sure you can cook and enjoy serving your guests, lots of chefs are fantastic at the stove, but no good front of house!
Do you still train or coach other up and coming chefs in the industry? If so what is the most valuable piece of advice would you give?
I often help friends out in restaurants and love working with ‘green’ chefs. I love to ask them what they eat at home. Passing on the importance of being passionate about food is the best advice I can give them.
Where was the last place you dined out and what did you have?
Porthmeor Beach Café. Black Rice. Cameron Jennings the Head Chef is an amazing chef and it’s a great location.
What is your favourite Local Restaurant?
No.4 in St Agnes in Cornwall. Nola and Adam are running a fun restaurant based on their passion. You can eat well year round in Cornwall, which is brilliant.
What are 3 favourite places/dishes you love to prepare?
- Sunday breakfast with my wife Sammy and my daughter Evie. We do it together and anything they make tastes brilliant
- Preparing food with a pint of cider at home, in Somerset, with my brothers
- Sunday roast. We are about to start a Sunday roast club at my friend’s restaurant. To start with we’ll be serving local smoked salmon, soda bread and salty butter – just perfect!
If you could prepare a full course menu for anyone in the world, who would it be?
All my friends. That’s what cooking is about for me now. Get a good group of mates together, feed them, water them and you’ll have a memory that’ll last a lifetime.
Do you have a simple recipe that you would be happy to share with our readers?
I was shown this salad at the beginning of the summer in Greece. A massive perk of the job is getting to cook in amazing locations with interesting people.
An old lady made this for me all in her hands with no chopping boards. It was a refreshing salad with loads of depth. I can’t get enough of it!
Salted Cucumber and torn fish salad serves 2 well!
1 cucumber cut into chunks,
Good pinch of salt
100 g cooked white fish (such as bream or bass)
30 g feta
Mint. (1 handful ripped up)
Olive oil splash
1 lemon
Salt the cucumber and leave to stand for 5 minutes
Tear the fish into bite size chunks and mix with crumbled feta, mint and a dress with a splash of olive oil. Divide the cucumber onto two plates, pile fish mix on top and serve with lemons to squeeze fresh.
Thanks for your time. I would be interested to see how many chefs out there would want to be a private chef they can always get in touch with me.
Thanks to Ben for sharing with our readers his experiences as a Private Chef and a delicious recipe! Ben can be contacted via Twitter @chefbenquinn or via his website: benedictquinn.co.uk
Photo courtesy of Fieldgrazer Productions