KEY POINTS:
Nic Watt is head chef at Roka, a Japanese restaurant in London. Alongside the expected Japanese offerings of sushi and sashimi, Roka serves traditional dishes cooked on a robata grill in the centre of the restaurant. Watt has also worked at acclaimed London restaurant Nobu and was executive chef at Huka Lodge.
What inspired you to start cooking?
I wanted to travel the world, and I thought being a chef would help with this ambition. It was definitely meant to be. I have been cooking and eating all sorts of odd mixtures and things since a boy. My party trick at about 5 was to eat a raw scallop that my dad had just opened on the back of the boat straight from the shell.
Is there anything you don't eat?
I will always try something once. But I would have to say that the pigeon pie I had in Morocco was awful and I would definitely not have it a second time. I'm sure it was made from some local road kill.
What is the worst thing you have eaten?
That pigeon pie in Morocco. It's called pastilla and it is made with nuts and a filo-like pastry.
What is your idea of the perfect meal?
In the Maldives in March this year. I was doing a promotion at a luxury spa and the chef treated my wife and I to an atoll barbecue. Wow. Dinner for two on your own private atoll. We were dropped off by speedboat with a chef and a waiter for a seafood banquet barbecue for two. To top it off, it was a sunset dinner.
What do you always have in your fridge and kitchen cupboard?
A mustard selection is a must because they can be used to spice up all kinds of dishes. The pantry must also have a good whole spice selection that you can grate fresh over your cooking. Some nutmeg, cinnamon, shichimi pepper and tonka beans.
Do you have a favourite ingredient?
This is always a transition ingredient depending on my inspiration. At the moment I can't seem to get enough fresh wasabi - not powdered - we grate it using a shark skin paddle. Do you ever eat convenience food? I don't do pre-made food but I love dim sum and quick noodle houses. They're a convenience in the form of very fast delivery of the product.
What do you eat when you can't be bothered to cook?
Yoghurt.
Do you have a cooking tip?
Cook to your palate. Trust your tastebuds and follow their signals. Like Obi-Wan Kenobi said, "feel the force, trust the force". Feel your tastebuds, trust your tastebuds - you will always cook your best food.
What was the first thing you cooked as a child?
I used to cook apple pie with old fashioned custard. I still salivate about this dish.
What is your favourite family recipe?
Crayfish and Dijon mustard sandwiches for lunch while fishing.
What is your favourite dinner menu for entertaining?
When cooking at home, keep it whole and simple. If you are cooking fillet, cook it whole and carve it at the table - it's very impressive. Think simple but tasty - grilled asparagus with pan-fried quail's eggs. Simple but complete.
What is your favourite gadget?
It's not really a gadget but I have a collection of egg cups. My favourite is a tiny VW Kombi van. The cooked egg sits in the top and the surf board is the salt shaker.
What is your favourite cookbook?
It would have to be Chef's Secrets from the Huka Lodge Kitchen.
What are three foods you could not live without?
Fresh wasabi, seafood and flour. Because wasabi is the spice, seafood is life-sustaining and with flour we can make bread, bread we can make crumbs, crumbs we can make crusts, now we have a finished dish. Wasabi crusted fish fingers.
What was the most embarrassing moment in your hospitality career?
At an interview in Japan, I said I could speak Japanese, So they tested me on some basic questions - "what is your name?", "how old are you?" I didn't understand a word but I still got the job.
What was the best moment in your hospitality career?
Beating Marco Pierre White's restaurant to best beef restaurant in London when I was only 26.
Have you won any awards?
Best sushi in Britain and Oriental Restaurant of the Year are two recent ones.
What would you most want to do if you were not in your current job?
A food and lifestyle photographer. Fill in the blanks: Chefs are ... often a bunch of misfits brought together by one common factor: a passion for flavour.
