This month’s Featured Chef …
Sat Bains
One of the most talked about Chefs in the UK, Sat Bains from Restaurant Sat Bains in Nottingham.
Sat, first and foremost thank you very much for your time today.
You’re welcome. Pleasure.
It’s great to come and see you at the restaurant. You have had huge success. You’ve been here since 2003, is that right?
Well, I have been here since 1999 and took over in 2005. So, yes it has been a crazy few years, to be honest.
And you are Nottingham’s only Michelin starred restaurant?
Yes, that’s right. It’s a great achievement for the team and everyone here but it’s not anything I loose any sleep over.
That was going to be my next question. Obviously, the Michelin Guide for 2010 has just recently been published and … leaked early (again). You didn’t get your second star this year, of course it’s disappointing not to get it but does that motivate you to do more? Or do you say “you know what, I am comfortable where we are.”
Well, I would never say we are comfortable. We are striving to be amazing. We wake up in the morning to be the best. So, yes it is always going to be disappointing but then it’s not a race. To cook brilliant food is not a race. Because when you ultimately get the two or one Michelin star that you are after, as a Chef, you have got to be able to maintain that level and keep motivated and excited about cooking and for your team. So for me it has never been about “Yes, I think we deserve two stars.” I would never say that. I think we are comparable to some two stars with the food I have eaten in them, but I am never going to say we’re better. So for me it wasn’t a surprise. It was a disappointment, naturally, because I have been at one star level since 2003 and there is no way the food is the same as it was then, but I am not an inspector so I have never known the criteria of how to achieve the next level. . . and I think that is the beauty of Michelin. Because if you think about it, why are they so illusive and exclusive\? It’s because they are so strict. Because if this year there were 10 new two stars then it would look too easy … it would de-value it.
Yes.
They are very clever in their marketing and they are very disciplined. I’ve got to take a kick in the b***s and say we’re not good enough.
