Origins of Theo Randall

A frugal Scottish mother was the inspiration behind a career that would see him put the River Café on the map, earning its first star, before opening an eponymous restaurant at London’s InterContinental hotel.Interview by Alex Mead.

Mother

My mother got me into cooking. She was Scottish, very frugal, and she’d bake two or three times a week and forage for everything she could. We had a garden with lots of fruit trees, so she was constantly making jam; then she’d get in boxes of Seville orange to make marmalade. And she’d send me to school with homemade bread and Gorgonzola.

Mediterranean

My father was an architect, my mother an artist and it was a very foodie family. We’d always go to France and Italy on holiday. We had a Citroën DS with a trailer – it would be half-empty on the way there, but full of wine, cheese and olive oil on the way back.

Max Markarian

I got my first job doing washing-up in a French bistro called Chez Max. Max Markarian was from Armenia, but he’d worked at Prue Leith’s restaurant. Max was my mentor: it was classic French, he bought nothing in, everything was made in the kitchen. He knew the Richmond gamekeeper who’d bring us in the deer he’d shot, so we’d be doing butchery too.

Olive oil

I remember going to this winery called Selvapiana in Chianti. They had trees producing green, grassy, spicy olives. I’ll never forget going to the press, seeing paste being made with this big pestle and mortar and then this green oil coming out. There was an open fire and these old ladies were grilling bits of bread and drizzling the oil over it. Such flavour.

Alastair Little

I went for my 21st birthday to Alastair Little on Frith Street and always loved this kind of food – a bit of Italian, bit of French, interesting food. It was one of the best but it was also casual at the same time. I wrote him a letter to ask for a job, and although he didn’t have anything, he told me about this new restaurant on the River Thames.

The Rive Café

So I went along to the River Café. When I met Rose [Gray] she said, ‘So you think you’re a good cook?’ She was abrupt, while Ruthie [Rogers] was all calm and lovely. We chatted about growing up, mothers’ cookbooks, and they showed me the menu. There were things I’d never heard of and it changed every day. It had been a staff canteen that was then opened to the public and I wanted to be part of it.

California

I took time out to work with Alice Waters at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California. It was in an old house and they used all-organic Californian produce and French and Italian methods. Alice invented California cuisine. She was inspirational, listening, giving advice, then letting you do what you do.

Porcini

There’ll be days when I go on lovely long walks with the Labrador. I’ll go foraging in Dorking, and if you go at the right time to the right place, you get porcini. I absolutely love them. I use a lot in cooking when in season, but also have a nice supply of dried ones.

Bangkok

We had a restaurant there and I loved the whole spirit of the place, the amazing temples, the madness of it all. We’d go with local chefs to little restaurants and have a papaya salad made with chilli that would blow your head off, but leave you wanting more. I don’t think you get those flavours anywhere but Thailand.

Puglia

One place we go to every year is Puglia. I love it there – all the restaurants, the beaches, the olives, the little towns on the hill, houses painted white like little bee hives so they can keep cool in evening. The markets are always packed and they don’t just sell fruit and veg; you could buy a tractor if you wanted. The community is so important; it feels as if the way of life’s not changed and I’ve never tired of it.