Chef Revelations – Kenny Atkinson

What was your best subject at school?
PE, I just preferred sports, it was all I was good at

What was your first job? When I was 14 years old, I had a summer job packing Christmas paper in a local factory

What was your first job in catering?
Washing dishes in my uncle's restaurant

What is your favourite restaurant?
Le Champignon Sauvage in Cheltenham

What is your favourite hotel?
Rockliffe Hall, ha ha

What is your favourite drink?
Champagne and Stella

What is your favourite food/cuisine?
Italian food - me and the wife just love it. We're hoping to go to Italy next year

Which ingredient do you hate the most? Snails - they just aren't my cup of tea	!](https://cdn.filestackcontent.com/VTgyxjUQZKiTInRowMNi)

Who in catering have you most admired? Gordon Ramsay - from where he came to what he has achieved, it just goes to show what hard work and determination will get you Who has given you the greatest inspiration? My old head chef, a man called Dean Selby, sadly passed away at the age of 32 from cancer - he was a great chef, a great leader and a great friend If not yourself, who would you rather have been? Alan Shearer, Newcastle football legend Cast away on a desert island, what luxury would you take? A boat and lots of petrol If you had not gone into catering, where would you be now? Probably a copper or in the forces When did you last eat a burger? Six months ago at a service station coming back from the Great British Menu banquet - I did not eat a thing all day and was bloody starving!

What is your favourite book? Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain	

What irritates you most about the industry? Poor college tutors teaching kids how to cook when they can't bloody cook themselves ![What is your favourite prepared product? Hellmann's Mayonnaise Name your fantasy brigade Glynn Purnell, restaurant manager; Keith Floyd, sommelier; Albert Roux and Gordon Ramsay on the pass; Sat Bains on appetisers; Marco Pierre White on meat; Nathan Outlaw on fish; Raymond Blanc on veg; Thomas Keller on larder; Michel Roux Snr on puddings; Kim and Aggie on pots