Do you buy into the idea of male chefs v female cooks?
Our restaurant is 50-50. When we first opened in 1987, the trousers were so uncomfortable. I called up and said: “Why can’t we have more comfortable chef’s trousers?” And they said: “Well, 98 per cent of chefs are men and that’s who we design for.” It’s certainly changed. The whole perception of the male chef in a big white hat, being a bully and shouting at people – none of the people I know, who work for me, would work in that atmosphere. We have a kitchen that’s based on hope rather than fear: we’re a family. When my partner Rose Gray died, I felt like a single parent, but I had 70 kids.
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