Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
A self-taught chef and restaurateur who built a world-renowned hotel and restaurant outside Oxford, and is a successful cookery writer.
On the island
Eight records
Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64
My favorite, really marvelous violinist.
It's about a mother, a very religious Catholic mother, looking at a beautiful son... and admires him really, just not really knowing what's the turmoil that this young man is experiencing.
It's really part of the wildness of Mayus.
I loved it because I just arrived in England and I was feeling pretty lonely and I had to do a lot of imagination, so that was perfect.
Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2 'Moonlight'
It's the most romantic, beautiful piece of music I know.
Hungarian Dance No. 1 in G minorFavourite
This piece of music actually mirrors very much the personality and the bounciness and the loveliness of my wife.
It has a stunning music, absolutely stunning. I found it absolutely brilliant.
Concerto No. 1 in E major, Op. 8, RV 269 'Spring' from The Four Seasons
Academy of St Martin in the Fields, conducted by Sir Neville Marriner
The season had an enormous influence on my working life and my life as a whole. And I chose the spring because it's so much newness, it's such a happy piece.
In conversation
Presenter asks
1:03Do you still have that picture in your mind's eye of that dinner being served?
Very much so. Actually, it was not a window, it was much nicer than that. ... What I saw was basically the diners were outside, okay, and you had this very old-fashioned service where all the waiters were dressed in black... It was really stunning.
Presenter asks
2:28But how did you know you could do it?
Well, I didn't know. I was terribly convinced. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had found my own career... one thing I was terribly afraid to be is to be a mediocre. That scared me to death.
Presenter asks
5:07Has not having a formal cookery lesson been a disadvantage?
No, on the contrary, turned to be a great advantage. ... I believe if you have a master who basically take you on by the hand and show you exactly the way, you are more or less the reflection of that man's thought... it left my freedom totally intact, invaluable.
Presenter asks
The keepsakes
The book
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
it's a very tiny little book which I found which is not a great piece of literary work, but it's absolutely charming. It encapsulates basically universal love, kindness.
The luxury
in that case I will bring my good luck stone which was given by Koti, my wife. And obviously it has served me extremely well lately, so I will take it with me.
What happened when someone arrived at Le Manoir without realising the prices?
It was a Sunday afternoon and there was a lot of chauffeur driven cars outside. And suddenly I saw that little mini... I just went to them and asked them to park their car beside the huge fat holstery... I made sure that they were brilliantly relaxed... And now they come every year.
Presenter asks
24:52Can you tell me what happened the morning you couldn't squeeze the toothpaste out of the tube?
It was a shock, an enormous shock... the knowledge that that body who had served you so well... actually was abused for so many years. ... It took me months of getting over it... I've lived in a fast lane for basically the last twenty years... I had to pace myself differently and organize myself differently.
Presenter asks
30:54Why do you think the third Michelin star eludes you?
I went through a pretty difficult and emotionally emotional period in my life, which created a few gaps and I suppose maybe it was at one stage a lack of consistency. ... I don't see a reason why, but what I'm trying to do is to remove the idea of just working for a third star... I think it's a useless pursuit.
“I was terribly afraid to be is to be a mediocre. That scared me to death.”
“Creativity is a very weird feeling because it comes whenever it pleases and you don't control it.”
“The table is a place, this four-legged thing is a place where you actually sit down and relate to each other, communicate, have fun, laugh.”
“You shouldn't be punished for enjoyment. At the contrary, body and mind should be in total harmony.”
“I've lived in a fast lane for basically the last twenty years and very fast lane, with a Ferrari, really.”
“You have to discover England, you've got to discover scratch over the surface and eventually you reach the heart of England, and the heart of England is rather beautiful.”