Nigel Slater, He's Not Toast

Nigel Slater sits down, flaps his napkin on his lap and runs a practised eye down the menu. "Hmm. Caramelised strawberries? There's a worry," he says, noting the bizarre stuffing for a saddle of rabbit. "Oh dear. And there are pistachios and grapes in there, too. But, you know, it is probably divine." ... read more

Angelo Maresca

Angelo Maresca is the wiliest of wily foxes, a master maitre d'. He never forgets a face and, apparently, can glean everything he needs to know about a man by his watch and his shoes. ... read more

Don't Hate Me Because I'm Happy

Curse if you like, but it is another damnably perfect morning in Provence. Despite being on the threshold of autumn, the pale sun feels warm and good as it soars above the Luberon forest in a pellucid sky, silvering the leaves on the olive trees and glinting on the pale blue shutters and limestone buildings in the pretty village of Lourmarin. ... read more

Anton Edelmann

Chef Anton Edelmann is the kind of man who is used to being obeyed. Sitting at his cluttered desk in his office in the kitchens of the Savoy hotel, he barks some instructions over the telephone in his precise, German accent. Then he swivels around to face me and a liveried waiter from the restaurant who is delivering our order; coffee for me, peppermint tea for him. ... read more

Simon Hopkinson

Typical. Simon Hopkinson was on holiday in Provence when Roast Chicken and Other Stories, the book of recipes he wrote 11 years ago, was recently voted the most useful cookery book of all time, beating the combined output of Delia Smith, Rick Stein, Nigel Slater, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and others. ... read more

Rick Stein

Down in deepest Padstow, Rick Stein's new chippy is fish and chip heaven. In a white tiled shop on the harbour front, you can buy haddock and chips, plaice and chips, scallops and chips, sea bass and chips and monkfish and chips with freshly made Goan curry sauce. There's posh! You can have your fish battered or grilled, eat in or out, have a crabcake, a pint of prawns or a chip butty. But the one thing you can't have is fresh cod and chips because Stein, the food hero who champions the native, the fresh, the artisanal, the noble, the cream, the crop and the very best of British food in his BBC television series, is selling frozen Icelandic cod in his chip shop. Rick! How could you do this? ... read more

Raymond Blanc

Halfway through the evening, at some point between the scallop tartare and the roast monkfish with fresh pea puree, chef Raymond Blanc suddenly appears and makes a triumphal tour of the dining room. ... read more

Jamie Oliver

Jamie Oliver strolls through the restaurant in his sparkling chef's whites, looking for all the world as if he has spent a hard morning thrashing and bashing at the coal face of haute cuisine. "Yep. Phew. I been makin' bread, general bits and pieces. A bit of prepping, a bit of butchering, all that malarkey," he says, without even a hint of a blush. ... read more

Gordon Ramsay

GORDON Ramsay wants to tell us something. "I am not sexist,'' he says. OK. That's good. That's a start. We're listening. Earlier this week he was in the headlines for stating that modern women can't cook to save their lives, but be fair - he has got a new television show to promote. Anyway, he's also got a point. ... read more

Heston Blumenthal

Heston Blumenthal powers across the room to say hello, his tanned little head sitting atop the solid block of his body like a Henry Moore statue. The dad in Family Group, perhaps. Or Happy Chef Reclining With Snail Porridge. With his nutty professor inventions such as bacon and egg ice cream and the famous mollusc porridge, Blumenthal is now one of the most famous chefs in the world, but to be honest, meeting him is a little bit embarrassing. Partly because a few years ago I gave one of his restaurants a terrible review, but mostly because the flies of his Diesel jeans appear to be open. Is either of us going to say anything about the obvious? No, of course we are not. This is England, after all. ... read more