"I suppose that I was, by now, starting to develop what has been described as my ‘poet and peasant’ or ‘rich man, poor man’ style
of cookery, that’s to say using a blend of luxury and everyday ingredients in one dish to obtain something that blends
robustness with finesse. An example is our grilled black pudding
with pan-fried foie gras, Pickering watercress salad, apple and
vanilla chutney, scrumpy reduction. As I look back, I see that many
of my dishes are variations on classics in some form or another,
or an anglicising of French dishes. I certainly don’t like to
overwhelm people with too many flavours on a plate, nor do I
see any virtue in scaring customers with bizarre combinations.
I think that ours appreciate that."