Spotlight on: Antony Worrall Thompson

epicure: As chef Christopher Millar’s guest at the World Gourmet Summit this year, what are you expecting?
Antony Worrall Thompson: I’ve worked with Christopher before so I know he’s a very good chef and he’s obviously more of a restaurateur now, but I am quite excited to be cooking with him again after all these years. As a preview, guests can look forward to a four-course dinner featuring English dishes such as Cocktail of Roast Scallops in Three Guises (chorizo and its jam, blackberry pudding and cauliflower purée, candied walnuts and buttercream), Fillet of Aged Scottish Beef with Girolles and Bone Marrow, and Artisanal British Cheese with Spicy Tart Tartin Apples.

With regards to gastronomy, what do you think are some things London can learn from Singapore and vice versa?
That’s a tricky one. The U.K. has some fantastic chefs but I think we are still rather weak on incorporating Asian influences in our cuisine. Take spice for example. Singapore uses them really well, and even California and Australia are picking up on this aspect. The scope of street food, fine diners and hawker centres is also fantastic and something I hope to see more of in London. London chefs such as myself focus largely on respecting the purity of products and a stronger focus of that in Singapore could only be a good thing.

As a patron of Forest, the pro-smoking campaign group, is there a disconnect between that role and the one you embody as a chef to eat healthy and organic?
I think people misunderstand the movement because Forest is about pro-freedom of choice instead of pro-smoking. We all know smoking is bad for us but it is legal and the government hypocritically touts its hazards even though it is a lucrative way to raise revenue for taxation. Freedom of choice has become severely limited with all these petty laws, you can’t do anything nowadays. We have lost great institutions in Britain because of the smoking ban in pubs—few are surviving because it used to be a place to relax with a pint and a smoke in hand, but that’s all disappearing. Yes, it is a bit of a schizophrenic move on my part, but to me it’s not so much about the smoking but the fact that we are becoming too petty about everything in life these days. They have rules in school that ban climbing because you might break an arm. You know when I was young and you broke an arm, you put a plaster cast on, everyone signs on it and that was all part of growing up.

Having been a BBC presenter for Saturday Cooks, Food and Drink, and Ready Steady Cook, how much of a role did TV have in shaping your status as a celebrity chef?
A big one definitely, and in so many ways too, because there are great chefs out there that haven’t been on television. Maybe because they are too shy and are not performers, though they could be far better chefs than myself. I’ve enjoyed being on the television but I still have more to go. I’m back cooking in restaurants a bit more because I realise I have taken my eye off the board for a while now. We all have to remember where we come from and for chefs, that’s cooking.

Do you think that’s where your focus is right now? Going back to your restaurants?
Yes. If TV comes up, I’ll take it, but I tend to do that on my days off. I am a full-time chef again and I am enjoying it, it’s brought back my creative juices. It’s like falling off a horse—you’ve got to get straight back on again otherwise you will always be a little scared. I was out of the kitchen for probably 10 years and became more of an office boy. We built some 30 restaurants at one stage and I had six restaurants including Notting Grill, Barnes Grill and the Lamb Inn where we got into trouble. Some of it had to do with the banks, some with the fact that I took my eye off the board and just lost focus.

Many English chefs are predicting the wedding dishes of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Any stabs on what will be served or what you would like to see on the menu?
Prince Charles, who I am a big fan of, is a fantastic supporter of the organic movement. He launched Duchy Originals in 1990, converting the Duchy Home Farm at Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire to an entirely organic agricultural system. So I think the food will be fairly simple with some products from the Duchy line. I would love to see a return to true British cuisine like slow-cooked mutton with an onion sauce. I think we need to return to our roots. Scotland has some of the best langoustines but we choose to get our supply from France. Our shellfish is stellar so I would vote for a platter of the freshest clams, oysters and mussels but that is far too messy and probably rather ‘unroyal’.

5 things to know about Antony Worrall Thompson:

Three tea break essentials: A lardy cake made with freshly rendered lard, spices and currants, thin sandwiches my grandmother used to make, and a cup of really good tea.

Culinary mentor: I’m a self taught chef, but if I had to choose, it’d be Alice Waters for her respect toward the purity of produce.

On Jamie Oliver: He’s a bit of a messiah because he’s always got a message, but he channels good energy, has a mission in his life and always goes about it with incredibly good intentions.

On Gordon Ramsay: He’s a brilliant cook but a one-trick pony and I think he’s got to look at changing his ways if he intends to carry on with what he’s doing.

The person I would like to take on in Iron Chef: Bobby Flay

Photo: Nick Ayliffe