I have to say, opening up in New York taught me a lot about that level of attention to detail. London's a tough market, Paris is a tough market, but New York, well, that's extraordinary.

Growing up in Britain, we didn't have much, worked for everything. To leave food on the plate, Mom classed it as being rude and so we ate because we were hungry, not ate because we had a choice in the fridge.

Very few restaurants do five services a day - breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, cocktail, theatre and dinner - and because of that we can offer something for everyone.

First of all, when you build a restaurant of that phenomenon-I really hate that word "set" and I hate the word "cast" -it is from the most amazing health and hygiene ... properly air conditioned, properly irrigated with hot and cold running water... Obviously, FOX is paying for it, so in terms of expenditure it's far more economical and on the back of the draw were 22,500 cast. Finding 30 chefs in that bunch wasn't difficult.

There's no bigger pain anywhere in the world than a vegetarian.

Would I swap what I have achieved as a cook if I could have been as successful as a footballer? Definitely.

It's learning your craft and understanding what it takes to survive in this industry. On the back of exposure from TV to books to Rachel Ray to Martha Stewart, the customer's integrity is far greater than every before. As a nation, just like the U.K., we don't complain enough. The more we complain in this country the better our restaurants will be.