From kitchen porter to the Burj al Arab, meet the classically trained chef now heading up Southampton's Atlantic Gate.
With a career spanning 30 years cooking classical French dishes with a modern twist, we meet Andrew Gault, Head Chef at Atlantic Gate Seafood & Cocktails, who joined the newly refurbished voco Southampton in January.
What first inspired you to become a chef?
"My career in the kitchen began when I was maybe 14 or 15 years old, working as a kitchen porter in a hotel local to where I grew up in the east of Scotland and I really enjoyed the kitchen environment."
"I started working as a chef in a local hotel in 1991, where I got the basic understanding of kitchen life and how classical French cooking should be. I then stepped up to a larger kitchen, moving to the internationally renowned Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire.
"I went to work overseas in Evian in France for The Royal Hotel, and The K club just outside Dublin before moving back to Scotland in June 2001 to a new opening in St. Andrews. From there, I moved to Dubai in 2002 to work at the Burj Al Arab hotel, which had just opened.
"I worked there for three years before heading back to the UK in 2005 to settle on the south coast of England. I gained two AA rosettes in 2006."
"Cooking for 50 Cent and also receiving a box of chocolates and a large cash tip from Ronan Keating stand out."
What’s one cooking tip you swear by?
"Never cook food for a dinner party that you’ve never cooked before. Guests are not guinea pigs, and it usually fails! My advice would be to keep it simple."
What is your favourite dish currently on your menu?
"The monkfish and prawn curry has great flavours, isn’t too spicy, and it looks as good as it tastes."
What is your favourite meal to cook at home?
"One pot cooking all the time - it’s less washing up! A great paella in the summer or beef casserole in the winter."
"I love a pot noodle after a busy day at work. Don't judge me!"
Which chef do you most admire?
"It would have to be old-school Keith Floyd. Anybody growing up in the 1980s would tell you watching him in a kitchen on television was a little bit like watching one of the Rolling Stones at work. He was always a bit chaotic, never without a glass of wine, did and said as he pleased, but it was always fun to watch."
Where is your favourite place to eat in Hampshire?
"I love Elderflower in Lymington for fine dining."
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