Tell us about your favourite food memory from your childhood...

I wasn't a very adventurous eater as a young man, in fact, I was branded with the label "fussy". There are few moments I look back on as turning points in my food life, moments that encouraged my little brain to think outside the box of fish fingers and wedges and into the realm of adult flavours. Briny olives, weird and wonderful vegetables, different types of fish, stinky cheese and even mushrooms. Growing up I hated the slippery texture of a cooked mushroom, totally ignoring the earthy, savoury flavour. I have a very fond memory of eating a prawn mayo baguette in Devon, by the sea. A crusty white baguette packed with sweet prawns, dressed with a classic marie rose style sauce (ketchup, mayo and a little horseradish) with some crispy lettuce and a squeeze of lemon. It's a fond memory for a few reasons. The first, it was my first taste of prawns, or at least the first one I remember really, really enjoying. The second, it was by the sea, a place I feel at home. It also marked a little victory, as my folks were adamant I wouldn't enjoy it, begging me to go for a ham and cheese. Well, jokes on you guys, I loved it and now I cook for living. Thanks, Prawn baguette.

What would your advice be to someone who is new to cooking and is looking to put more love into the ritual of preparing food at home?

The two best things you can give to your cooking are time and taste. Take your time when you're cooking, don't rush the process, enjoy it instead. Take the time to cut your onion nicely, time to allow your pan to warm up, the time to clean your cutting board between tasks and the time to pick something perfect to listen to as you cook. I find I'm much more present when I approach the kitchen with this mindset and I can really lock into what I'm doing. You'll notice the little things, the details that you don't pay attention to that make a good dish great and I am positive that you will improve as a cook. Try to taste everything. It's all about learning and growing as a cook, training your palette to identify when something needs more salt or more acid, noticing the food transform as it cooks or is seasoned. You can really throw yourself into the journey of your dinner if you taste all the way through. You can't taste too much either, taste food when it's just hit the pan, when it's cooking, before you add another ingredient, just before the end, etc. etc. All of these little moments compound into a wealth of experience and knowledge that'll make cooking at home a real joy.

Tell us about one of your cooking rituals at home...

I'm coming to the end of writing a book, and that's a pretty mammoth task, and one that involves an awful lot of cooking. Testing and retesting recipes whilst a privilege, can get pretty tiring, and I look for little cooking practises and rituals that sooth this feeling. When you're testing, your brain is always very much switched on, you're paying attention to every little detail, how many grams of this, how long to sear that, when do I add salt and how much, how do I explain that so anyone reading it will understand. When I'm off, I like to cook things that I can do with my eyes shut and hands tied behind my back. Enter "something over rice". Not only is this a bulletproof midweek, emergency meal, but I find a huge bowl of seasoned, warm, chewy sushi rice with some grilled chicken, crunchy cucumbers and a sauce (this changes regularly) about as comforting as it gets. Is it a ritual? Sort of. It ticks the same boxes.

What’s your favourite thing about having friends and family round for dinner

I spent a good number of years working in restaurants, and I often miss working in them. The kind of cooking you do in restaurants is nothing like the kind of cooking you do at home. You make complex sauces, cook expensive ingredients, and take great care over every element on the plates. How often are you cooking 25 john dorys, a few massive steaks and a load of other delicious things in one evening? That might sound like hell to most, but for me, it's really good fun, and you get to work with some really special ingredients. When I have folks over, I like to splash out on something special and relive those moments, I'll head to my fishmonger and pick out something amazing, make a lovely garnish, spend a few hours making a stunning dessert. Really take my time and offer something special. I love it, and my guests are quite into it, too.

Tell us about one of the most memorable meals someone important in your life has cooked for you...

It's always a treat to be cooked for, without exception. The day I left my last restaurant job, my old head chef and good friend Gareth made staff dinner. It's not a job that the head chef often takes care of, and he spent all day making spicy, smoky jerk chicken alongside a whole host of delicious, extremely over the top garnishes. He really poured love into it, and it meant a lot. Staff dinner is something I really miss about restaurants, and this one was not only the last one I had, it's the best I ever had. Cheers, Gareth!

QUICK FIRE 

Taste that most makes you think of home:

Pasta Pomodoro

Favourite song to cook to:

It changes daily, today it's Defense by Panda Bear & Cindy Lee

You have friends coming round for an impromptu dinner, what do you cook?

I'm really into cooking pilaf at the moment, and you can make it with pretty much anything you've got knocking about. People always love it, too.

What do you cook when you don’t have many ingredients in the house?

A French Omelette, if I've got some cheese, bonus.

Your most proud career moment to date:

The first day spent writing my first cookbook.

Best place for a tasty dinner in your local area:

Malaysian Deli, Crofton Park

Favourite winter lunch:

Pie & mash

What's your winter drink of choice:

Dirty vodka martini, all year round

The ingredient you’re most looking forward to incorporating into your dishes this season:

Sage, bay, rosemary - hard herbs are so back!

Follow Ben on instagram @dinnerbyben