Every Thursday, our Money blog team interviews chefs from around the UK, hearing about their cheap food hacks and more. This week, we chat to Mike Reid, renowned TV chef and “Aussie Beef Mate”.
Good food doesn’t have to be expensive… tasty food is simply tasty food. Obviously, better ingredients and produce (which would usually mean higher costs) would lend to a better flavour. However, some of the best food I eat is street food, from local markets or vendors. When I was in Singapore last year, I tried one of the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurants in the world, with a pork noodle dish at about the equivalent of £5 for a one star dish. It proves that good food doesn’t have to be expensive.
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Michelin-starred food isn’t always the tastiest, but… it is definitely a marker of consistency and talent. We are blessed in the UK with a thriving food scene, with so many great chefs, and not all of them are cooking within Michelin restaurants. What I would say with Michelin restaurants is that it is a very good marker for a place to eat where you should be getting great service and great food. It is a guide to help you. I love dining out at Michelin restaurants and have cooked at this level too, but I’m just as happy dining across the great spectrum of restaurants that we are blessed to have.
The best chefs I’ve worked with are… legends such as Michel Roux Jr and Gordon Ramsay. I also had the pleasure of making “Five Star Chef” with Michel for Netflix, and that was such an incredible experience of working with him again. His professionalism and talent stand out every day, and I learned so much from him about being on set and the energy and expertise he brings with him.
I handle a TV chef cooking me a bad meal by… styling it out – I would never want to publicly embarrass anyone. Food is so subjective, even though it may not be to my…
