Every Thursday we interview chefs from around the UK, hearing about their cheap food hacks and more. Today we chat to chef Diego Jacquet, patron and chef at Zoilo and the Florencio pizzeria in London.
My pet hate in restaurants is… when kitchen staff don’t say “backs” or “behind” when passing by behind you. At the least it can result in having to re-do the dish you have just spent time doing, and at worst it can be very dangerous when operating with sharp knives and hot equipment.
The biggest mistake I see in kitchens is… a lack of communication between front of house and kitchen. It is essential to communicate as much as possible. You absolutely need to be working as one team in order to provide good service for our guests.
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My one piece of advice for an aspiring chef is… find a good kitchen, keep your head down, pay attention, focus, always be available, don’t take feedback personally, and don’t make your choices based on money. That’s more than one piece of advice but I think it’s all essential!
With meat, such as poultry or pork, brine it before cooking it… to add flavour and make the meat more tender. To do so, put 1kg of water to 100g of salt into a saucepan (you may need to amend these quantities depending on how much meat you’re brining, of course), put the meat into the saucepan, and bring to the boil. How big your piece of meat is will determine how long to brine it for – there is a lot of information you can find online to help with your particular piece of meat.
My favourite cookbook is… White Heat by Marco Pierre White. It was the first time I saw a chef that looks like a rock star! For me, he paved the way with an age of new cookbooks and made cooking cool. I also like that it’s part autobiography, part cookbook.
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My go-to cheap eat at home is… crisp Spanish tortilla…
Ingredients
Put a frying pan on medium heat and add oil. Slice the onions and caramelise in the pan until golden brown.
Beat the eggs in a bowl and then add the caramelised onions and your choice of flavoured crisps.
Heat some oil in a non-stick pan.
Add the egg mixture to the pan and leave to cook on a low heat for approximately 7-8 minutes.
When the egg mixture is about two thirds set, slide it on to a plate and immediately flip the plate so the mixture lands back in the pan, cooked side up.
Place the non-stick pan back on the low heat for another few minutes until it is cooked through.
Season and serve on toast!
I’ve cut costs for my restaurant by… buying things more often, rather than big purchases. This helps with our general cash flow in the business.
My favourite cheap substitute is… ox tongue – it is very versatile and is great cold or even grilled!
My tip for preventing waste is… citrus skin. Don’t throw these away, just discard the white part using a sharp knife. Slice the skin thinly and then you can make candied citrus peel, or you can keep it in syrup. These can then be used in desserts or as a pretty decoration for cakes. You can even use them to garnish a fancy cocktail.
I’ve given free meals… I usually give pizza away to those sleeping rough around our restaurant – it’s the least I can do to help.
