Dinner with . . . Paul Wedgwood

Published on Friday 27 November 2009 16:18

THE chef and owner of Wedgwood the Restaurant, on Edinburgh's Royal Mile, was recently awarded a Silver Medal in the Scottish Chef Awards.

Wedgwood the Restaurant will be at Foodies Christmas, at the Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh, on Saturday and next Sunday, 6 December. Wedgwood will also be doing a cooking demonstration on Saturday at 11am (www.wedgwoodtherestaurant.co.uk).

What's the best meal you've ever had? For pure theatre and assault on the senses, it has to be the taster menu at the Fat Duck; near perfection for the eyes and for my palette, although at 1,500 for four, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

What's the worst meal you've ever had? Lisa and I were invited by the owner to a restaurant for a free dinner when Gordon Ramsay was doing his Kitchen Nightmares Revisited show. It was a five-course menu. Every course got progressively worse until the main course of lamb shank arrived – it was burnt so badly it was totally inedible.

What's in your fridge? There are three things that you can always guarantee to be there: beer, champagne and a really good cheese selection.

What's your hangover fix? It's a recipe I got from Dave Lister on the TV show Red Dwarf – a triple-fried-egg buttie with chilli sauce and chutney. The trick is that you've got to eat it before the bread dissolves. It sounds messy – and believe me it is – but funnily enough, it does work.

What's your most useful kitchen utensil? I stayed on a friend's dad's farm in New Zealand and helped out with dagging the sheep, and he gave me his gadget for sharpening the shears. It's amazing for keeping a razor-sharp edge on my knives.

Do you have a guilty pleasure? The dreaded 2am kebab after a few pints.

What's your classic stand-by recipe? I always have pasta, flour and rice in the store cupboard and a selection of herbs and spices. With great base ingredients and a bit of imagination with fridge leftovers, you can always knock together something special.

Who would you invite to a fantasy dinner party? I'd invite Bear Grylls to trap fresh "free-range" meat, and Ray Mears could come along with his foraged leaves and vegetables. Then it would be the team from Top Gear, Lee Evans, Michael McIntyre, Dave Spikey, Jimmy Carr and Ricky Gervais.

What food says 'home' to you? My mum's roast rib of beef with her amazing roast potatoes.

Have you ever been on a diet? In my 20s I was on the chef's diet of alcohol, nicotine and caffeine.

• This article first appeared in the 29 November edition of Scotland on Sunday