The Lost Interviews, No.2: Ainsley Harriott

Another 'forgotten interview' from 2008...

Ainsley Harriott

The television personality and chef Ainsley Harriott has made a career out of the lighter side of food. As well as helping people to learn how to cook, his shows are all about relaxing and having fun. But his participation in a recent BBC documentary about genealogy forced him to face up to some uncomfortable truths about his family’s past. He spoke to James Brennan about the experience, his career and his critics.  

Tell us about your involvement with the festival of Taste.

I’m coming down there to do several food demonstrations, hang out with the chefs, and get people involved with food a little bit more. I think that’s what food festivals are all about. Just remind them that there are lots of dishes that are accessible. Sometimes these things can be a little bit far-fetched - people think “oh my god, unless I’ve got a certain type of stove, unless I’m making a reduction here and doing this there...” They feel like they can’t do it. My philosophy has always been accessible food - food that people want to cook. And at the same time trying to incorporate a bit of fun into the show. People can relax and have a go. They don’t go into their kitchens feeling tense.

Do you see yourself more as a performer or as a chef?

I think both. I’ve just done the programme Who Do You Think You Are, which traces your family history. On my mother’s side, my grandfather cooked at the White House, he was a fabulous chef. My mum always cooked and always encouraged us to cook, hence me being a chef and my brother being the main cook at home, and my sister is a cookery teacher in her school, so we all felt very comfortable in the kitchen. And yet my dad ended up as this incredible international performer, a pianist that performed all over the world. So I think I combine the two. I like to see myself as a cook with an entertaining slant, which is slightly different from the other guys. 

You uncovered some uncomfortable truths about your family history. How did that experience affect your life?

I think it grounded me more than I was before, and I’m a pretty solid guy. If you look at a tree, it grows and becomes more grand when the roots are embedded. And with a programme like that you discover all about your roots, and what your make up is. Why am I like this caring person? There were teachers, a policeman... My grandfather went out and started the first school in Sierra Leone. There were seven kids and now the same school has 700 kids.

That’s very positive, but there was also the negative side with links to the slave trade...

I don’t think that’s too negative. That’s part of our history. There was something like 300 years of slavery in the Caribbean, so it’s inevitable that when you start researching it you’re going to come up against it. What I didn’t expect was - even though I’d seen pictures of my great grandfather Ebeneezer, he looked like my children - the mixed race look. But I discovered that his father James Gordon Harriott was white. And there was an another generation of Harriotts that came from Scotland in the early 1700s - so I’m Scottish, but I’m not going to be wearing a kilt! And I don’t think you’ve got a sporran big enough for me out there in Dubai (laughs)!

People like Gordon Ramsay are less than complimentary about celebrity chefs like you. What would you say to people like that?

Well, it takes everybody. A lot of people go for the serious angle because, ultimately, that’s what it’s all about. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that’s the only way of cooking. When you look at people cooking in Britain - and Dubai too - they’re not that adventurous, they need to be encouraged somehow. And not everybody needs to be shouted at. I went through my training at Westminster College, I worked in some nice hotels and restaurants. I didn’t get those breaks because in those days as a black chef because even though I was really well qualified they didn’t want a black guy fronting their restaurant. And I can understand that. It wasn’t a major thing with me because it wasn’t done in a disgraceful way. But that’s the way it was then. Things have changed because I’ve propelled myself into the media world and I’ve been able to get my style of cooking across with my personality. Not with Gordon’s personality or Jamie’s - all of them great chefs in their own right. In terms of what Gordon does, he just likes to do that. I remember him having a go at Gino D’Acampo about something and Gino got very upset. Gordon said he only did it for the cameras. He was aggressive in his tone and it was refreshing at first, but after a while people become uncomfortable with it. But I’m a warm person and I like people to feel comfortable - if they’re comfortable they’re going to relax and cook and feel good.       

Do you think there will be a time when the public has had enough of celebrity chefs?

No, I don’t ever think that will happen. Unlike DIY or gardening - which are other lifestyle things - food is something that we deal with all of our lives. Two or three meals a day for a lot of people. I don’t think we’re ever going to tire of it. 

The S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants, 2010: As it happened...

 

Eyjafjallajokull would have been the word on everybody's lips, if they could pronounce it, leading up to the S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurant Awards in London. Fortunately, the Icelandic volcano decided to stop spewing its ash into Europe's airspace in the days leading up to the prestigious event, and the world's best chefs and greediest media were able to convene upon the historic Guildhall for a night that was to signal a new order for the world's top restaurants. Here's how it unfolded.

Ferran Adria of El Bulli arrives alongside Juan Mari Arzak of Arzak, and, as if by magic, some journalists appear.

Heston Blumenthal grabs a cheeky kiss, hoping that journalists and nosy bloggers would be more interested in the man wearing Noddy Holder's trousers behind him. You were wrong, Heston.

Richard Haward's oysters proved a popular source of zinc at the Slow Food Market inside the Guildhall. Special mentions must also go to Oliver's Cider & Perry and Butford Organics for their fine, crisp English perry (both from Herefordshire), not to mention Great Glen Game of Inverness-shire for their dry-cured, oak-smoked wild venison. Needless to say, it was all duly sampled.

Either somebody's wearing a hilarious pair of shoes, or Eckart Witzigmann is merely delighted at receiving the  2010 Lifetime Achievement Award. Rainer Becker, co-founder of Zuma restaurant,  presents the gong to the legendary Austrian chef.

Ferran Adria gets emotional as he receives a special 'chef of the decade' award, sparking a flurry of whispers as to a possible change at the top of the 50 Best list.

And the whisperers were right. Rene Redzepi of Noma scoops the prize as his Copenhagen restaurant is named the best restaurant in the world, 2010.

 
For a moment it looks like Redzepi has had one of Heston Blumenthal's dodgy oysters, but the Dane is merely showing his gut-felt appreciation for his Gambian dishwasher, Ali. The man whose face adorns the Noma boys' t-shirts was denied a visa for travel to the UK, and was unable to join them for the awards.

Oh-oh! Ferran Adria holds his nose, Heston Blumenthal looks as if he's about to pass out, and (in the background) Fergus Henderson of St John restaurant offers a startled expression. Meanwhile, Juan Mari Arzak chortles cheekily.

"We still on for that Big Mac later?" Heston Blumenthal and Rene Redzepi share a private moment.

   
Their secret dinner-date agreed, Heston and Rene pose for the cameras...

... and some Catalan bloke crashes the party. The men behind the three best restaurants in the world (that is if you pay any attention to awards ceremonies): Heston Blumenthal of The Fat Duck (3rd), Ferran Adria of El Bulli (2nd) and Rene Redzepi of Noma (1st).  

The full list is here (1-50) and here (51-100). Sadly, no Middle East restaurants made the top 100.

He's here, he's there, he's Pierre Gagnaire.

Recently, I had the great pleasure of accompanying Pierre Gagnaire to one of the Emirati breakfasts at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding in Bur Dubai. It was a chance for the legendary French chef to learn a little more about Emirati culture and food. And it was an opportunity for me to stuff myself silly with a load of luqaimat dumplings drenched in date syrup (not exactly a bowl of Fruit ‘n’ Fibre with low-fat yoghurt).


I was there on behalf of Esquire magazine in the Middle East, the idea being that the master chef would gain inspiration from his petite dejeuner à la UAE, before returning to the kitchen at Reflets Par Pierre Gagnaire to create something suitably impressive from a handful of dates and a bunch of chickpeas.


The breakfasts are held every week to offer tourists and anybody else who fancies it a chance to find out more about the culture and customs of the UAE, while sampling some genuine and reasonably good Emirati food. We sat, we ate and we listened intently...

Reflets' restaurant director Etienne Haro discusses the merits of 'kahwa' Arabic coffee, while monsieur Gagnaire demonstrates how to administer a crafty backhander to the head of a bald gentleman.

Back in the kitchen, chef Gagnaire cowers behind two intimidating-looking bottles of camel's milk...

The chef surrounds himself with an array of traditional Emirati ingredients: chickpeas, dates, cardamom, KFC bargain bucket, Dunkin' Donuts, Vimto.... sorry, got carried away there...

Gagnaire and Reflets' head chef Olivier Biles take to the stove.

Et voila! Eggs Maktoum!

With the pressure off, the lads clown around with a bottle of camel's milk, while PG captures the moment for a photo album entitled "I never thought I'd live to see the day...."


I have to say, I was impressed with the end result. I certainly hadn't imagined that such a hotch-potch of ingredients - chickpeas, dates, honey, camel's milk, coffee, cardamom and a solitary poached egg - could be so, well, interesting. In his own inimitable style, Gagnaire had created something approaching good Emirati food.


Of course, just typing the words “good Emirati food” has caused smoke to come billowing out the back of my laptop. Even the most patriotic local will tell you it’s as rare as braised brontosaurus breast in the restaurants and cafes of the UAE. Mysterious, misunderstood and missing from most menus, it’s a cuisine that the vast majority of non-Emiratis will know practically nothing about.


The best way to discover decent Emirati food it is to somehow blag an invitation into the home of a UAE national. Alternatively, the Sheikh Mohammed Centre’s weekly breakfasts and lunches will give you a full belly and one or two cultural insights to help you understand why you’re eating mini doughnut balls and sweet vermicelli noodles at 10 o’clock in the morning.


Failing that, just grab hold of a Michelin-star chef and see what he can rustle up with a bag of dried fruit, some legumes and the milk of an even-toed ungulate.


See Esquire Middle East, February edition, for the full Pierre Gagnaire story.

This place is full of Chinese people. That’s a good sign.

Both of the above statements are true of China Sea. This legendary restaurant opposite the clock tower roundabout on Deira’s Maktoum Street attracts a steady stream of Chinese customers, who are no doubt grateful for its authenticity, not to mention its faithfully rendered Chinese food.


It also draws in a fair smattering of non-Chinese people, who perhaps also ache for a taste of real Chinese food at a price that won’t stop their hearts before the grease on the spring rolls does.


However, in an attempt to get more people through the door, the management have erected some large signs outside, which even the most cynical hater of Chinese food cannot fail to be enchanted by.


It reads exactly as follows:


"Good News


Big promotion - - 20 % discount for 68 days both in China Sea and China Wind restaurant. Along with that China Sea will reopen the buffet for chafing dish for all the people who love the hot pot so much. buffet 78dhs/person also make 20 % discount!


Buffet has more than hundred ingredients, the changes in style, meticulous preparation and the unique taste. Wish you have a good luck when you have that. The food you can have such as delicious small size lobster, all set of fish-ball we serve before, prawns, seafood, beef, lamb, chicken, staple food, seasonal vegetable, fruit, drink, traditional special grill etc.


Promises by all the employee from China Sea and China Wind restaurant:


Excellent service every day, Cannily make every meal!


Don’t miss the chance! Hurry up! Come on!"


I’m right there, just wait a moment while I stop sniggering. Ok, I’ll admit China Sea’s English just about has the edge on my Mandarin Chinese. But what a snappy sign to yank those busy passersby off the street and through the door. That chafing dish sounds painful, too. Wish you have a good luck when you have that.


For far better Chinese restaurant English howlers, go here

This is not the Food Network. This is not KFC. This is The Dubai Guzzler.

Welcome to The Dubai Guzzler. May we take your order?

Since this is the very first post of a very new blog, I’d better explain what the hell it is I’m doing here. To be honest, I’m not really sure yet. Sure, this space will be used to talk about Dubai’s rapidly mushrooming dining scene - its restaurants, cafes, curry houses, shawarma dens, delicatessens, food shops, kitchen products, recipes, chefs, food trends, food oddities, obsessions, anomalies and downright absurdities - stuff like that.

Where there are reviews, I’ll let you know which ones I paid for, which ones I accepted an invitation to review, and which ones I actively, shamelessly and often cheekily blagged (all in the interest of keeping you - the reader - informed, ahem).

I’m hoping to post news of developments in the local restaurant scene - not just in Dubai, but also in Abu Dhabi, other parts of the Middle East, and throughout the rest of this gnarled old hunk of spinning rock we call planet earth.

There will be links to other blogs and websites, tips, interviews, observations and random musings, not to mention the occasional rant, I’m sure. Plus, I’ll be happy to answer any questions people may have (though keep the ones about quantum physics and string theory for when we’re in the pub, thanks).

But what I really hope it can be is a meeting place for a community of restaurant obsessives - of deli-addicts and prolific home cooks, take-away snobs, cookie-stashers, coffee-sponges, and curry shovellers par excellence (foie-gras-fanatics, fine-dining aficionados, fast-food freaks and people with an unhealthy relationship with tomato ketchup are also occasionally welcome).

I’d be delighted if that list of motley gourmets includes a few industry professionals - chefs, restaurateurs, sommeliers, waiters / waitresses, PRs, food writers, cookbook authors and the like - but I’d be even happier if it attracts some real people too.

You know, the ones who actually pay to attend restaurants, order the food, eat it, create an atmosphere and keep this whole industry ticking over. If you’re one of those people, thanks for keeping me in a job these past few years, but please, turn your phone off, keep the coughing down to a minimum and don’t use your napkin for THAT next time you’re dining out, eh.

I’d like to think of this little slice of cyberspace not as a blog or a website, but as a giant dinner table where chatter, gossip and opinions can be dissected, chewed over and occasionally spat out while nobody's looking. So pull up a chair, tuck in your napkin and let me know what you’re eating (or what’s eating you).

Let the guzzling begin.