Raymond Blanc

A grand master of the British dining scene, Raymond Blanc has held two Michelin stars at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons since 1985 and also runs the successful Brasserie Blanc chain. He talks to Alex Mead

As a child I used to imagine

the cows would be blue and the sun purple in other countries. So when I first left my home town of Besançon near Dijon to visit Switzerland I was so disappointed to find that everything was the same, although I did learn how to catch trout from the river, so it wasn’t all bad.

I had my first proper holiday when I was 14.

I was truly going beyond my home boundaries for a length of time. I went to visit a friend who’d moved to Cassis. It was such an experience. Now here everything was different – the smells, the herbs... It was rosemary, it was fennel growing on the side of the road with its sweet, acidic smell. And then there was the fish– so many different kinds, perfect for bouillabaisse.

For me, Japan was an extraordinary culinary journey

in terms of discovery. I cooked there for two months and I went everywhere: Kyoto, Tokyo, all the big cities. I remember one dish where you swallowed little live silver eels all in one go – you didn’t chew, so you’d feel them working their way down your body.

I shipped back 20 tonnes of sculptures

from a Japanese festival. My partner nearly killed me. I also created a tea garden at Le Manoir which was opened by the Japanese ambassador. These days, when I have Japanese food in England, Nobu (https://noburestaurants.com/) is still very good – I love their langoustine with red chilli shiso salsa. Zuma (https://www.zumarestaurant.com/) does nice food too; my favourite thing there is the tempura.

I remember when I went to Mount Kinabalu

in Malaysian Borneo and saw the heat rising at dawn at 2,500m (http://www.sabahtourism.com/). It was a true miracle. At that altitude everything was growing – tropical plants, sub-tropical plants and there were all these European nurseries around the mountain growing fruit, such as strawberries. I created a Malaysian garden when I came back – and we won at Chelsea Flower Show!

I love the childlike approach to food at Dabbous

Ollie is a protégé of mine, he gave me five years of his life at Le Manoir and I want to return that support. I had a fabulous meal there. His coddled egg shows what a very intelligent, talented chef he is – that young man will go far.

One of my greatest joys is to train young chefs

and we’ve trained 27 Michelin-starred chefs at Le Manoir. One of the best meals I’ve had for a while was from one of them – Aggi Sverrisson at Texture (http://texture-restaurant.co.uk/). His use of seaweed and fish is so controlled now, it’s incredible. Don’t be surprised when he earns his second Michelin star.

The Artichoke at Amersham is completely overlooked

in my opinion (http://www.artichokerestaurant.co.uk/home.htm) – I love that restaurant. Laurie and Jacqueline are so lovely. I remember first going when they had just seven tables; the skate was simply stunning. I became a friend of the family, and when next door became available, helped them double up (https://brasserieblanc.com/#)