Chefs’ first food memories

If you think that many chefs had poignant or powerful experiences with food when they were young that influenced their career path, you would be correct. Thanks to this short video from The Guardian, you can learn about the first food memories of some of the UK’s best chefs, many of whom have cookbooks in the EYB Library.

In the video, Ruth Rogers from The River Cafe recalls growing up in the countryside, where there was always a sense that “you ate what was growing at the time.” Bobby Chinn from House of Ho discusses the multi-cultural food influences in his extended family, and the first time he realized that food could be bad (when he was sent to boarding school). Chris Galvin waxes poetic about how the table is “the last bastion of civilisation.”

Other top British chefs also share entertaining food memories in the video. If you have a food memory that influenced you, we’d love to hear it.