Flash-grilled: Theo Clench
What was your first industry job?
I was 14, I worked as a kitchen porter at a tea room in Brighton.
If you weren’t in kitchens, what would you do?
I’d be an architect, designing big, grand projects.
What industry figure do you most admire, and why?
Marco Pierre White or Gordon Ramsay - both chefs mark an era where they were at the forefront of modernising British fine dining
What’s your pet hate in the kitchen?
Dirty fingernails, poor timekeeping and a bad attitude.
What’s the oddest thing a customer has said to you?
When I worked in a gastro pub, someone asked me to cook a meal for their dog - sausage and mash specifically. That was definitely a first.
Sum up your cooking style in a single sentence…
It’s about sourcing the best ingredients, treating them with respect and elegantly plating them.
What advice would you give someone starting out in the industry?
Turn up on time, have a good attitude, work harder than anyone else in your team and be inquisitive.
Which single item of kitchen equipment could you not live without?
Thermomix.
À la carte or tasting menu?
Tasting menu.
What’s the best meal you’ve ever had in a restaurant?
The Greenhouse in Mayfair before it closed, under Alex Dilling.
What’s your favourite fast food joint?
Maccies
What’s the dish you wish you’d thought of?
Salt and caramel - it’s a classic, but such a strong flavour pairing.
MasterChef or Great British Menu?
I like watching MasterChef: The Professionals.
What’s the most overrated food?
White chocolate.
Who would your dream dinner party guests be?
Anthony Bourdain.
What’s your earliest food memory?
Going out fishing with family is probably my earliest and most formative food memory. There was something about preparing the mackerel that we’d caught that day and freshly barbequing it on the beach that really stuck for me.
Twitter or Instagram?
Instagram.
What’s the closest you’ve ever come to death?
It’s been a close shave a couple of times. The closest would have to be falling off my bike and swinging over the handlebars. I was wearing a cap at the time, I hit the bumper of a car which knocked the cap off and nearly took my head off.
Where do you go when you want to let your hair down?
To the pub.
What’s your tipple of choice?
Either a pint of lager or a negroni.
What’s your favourite food and drink pairing?
Champagne, chicken nuggets and caviar.
What do you consider to be your signature dish?
Turbot, lettuce and sake - the turbot is the last fish course on the menu at Cycene, it’s served towards the end of the tasting menu. The dish is initially served with just the turbot on the plate, it has a pearlescent quality and is such a premium cut of fish that we want to spotlight the fish on its own, it’s then dressed with two sauces, on either side of the plate; lettuce and sake.
