In a Nutshell, Chef Stavros Bampatsikos: ‘The biggest sin a chef can commit is serve food they are not proud of’

Stavros Bampatsikos, Executive Sous Chef at Gleneagles, on what he eats at home, the most he has paid for a meal and his favourite ingredient. 

What’s the closest thing you have to a signature dish: 

Pate en Croute.

Describe your style of cuisine in ten words: 

Simple but with no simplicity, seasonal and sustainable.

Best and/or most memorable meal you’ve ever eaten:

Charcoal grilled whole fish with a tomato salad by the sea in Greece.

Worst thing you’ve ever cooked: 

During the early stages of my career a horrible fish garnish based on courgettes and coconut milk.

What’s the dish that you’re most proud of having cooked: 

Chicken liver parfait.

Favourite ingredient:

Wild garlic. 

Your go-to recipe book: 

Manresa.

What other country’s cuisine really excites and intrigues you? 

Japanese.

Most you’ve ever paid for a meal: 

£500

Your favourite Scottish chef: 

Mark Donald.

Favourite chef outside Scotland: 

Phil Carmichael.

Who taught you to cook or ignited your passion for food as a youngster: 

My grandmother.

Most important lesson a young chef can learn: 

Be disciplined and patient.

Culinary mentor – the most important person in your development as a professional chef: 

Graham Squire (executive chef, The Goring, London).

Best thing about the industry: 

Every day is a school day.

Worst thing about the industry: 

Work-life balance. 

What’s the biggest sin a chef can commit: 

Serve food they are not proud of.

What do you eat when you’re at home: 

Toasties.

What’s your favourite wine? 

Pinot noir.

Your spirit of choice? 

Gin.

Do you play music in the kitchen and, if so, what’s your go-to track or artist: 

No music in the kitchen, except for Sundays: BBC 3.

If you weren’t a chef, what would you be: 

Firefighter or paramedic.

Stavros Bampatsikos will be heating up the Kitchen Theatre at this year’s Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust Scottish Game Fair event, which takes place from 5 – 7 July at Perthshire’s Scone Palace.

Read more Chefs In a Nutshell here.

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