“I want to be in the middle of the bed, so I work to be in the middle of the bed, I suppose to keep myself relevant, because I want to be involved and engaged until the day I die’.
Skye Gyngell speaking to Unpaused Founder Judy Stewart, London, June 2019.
We launch Season 2 with the wonderful Skye Gyngell of Spring restaurant in London. Skye has the wisdom of someone whose approach to work has been forged in everything- to-lose Michelin-starred kitchens in Paris and London – some of the most exacting work environments imaginable
Her more seasoned view of life at work is no less exacting in its commitment to perfection now than it was when she first realised that cooking was going to be her chosen vocation, but it’s tempered by a still undimmed love of cooking and kitchen lore, which she imparts each day to her team. How she stays in the ‘middle of the bed’ is the subject of this podcast.
Skye’s bio:
Originally from Australia, Skye Gyngell is now one of Britain’s most respected and acclaimed chefs. After initially training in Sydney and then Paris, Skye moved to London to work at The French House and with a number of high-profile private clients before taking on the role of head chef at Petersham Nurseries. It was at Petersham that Skye became renowned for her distinctively seasonal, elegant cooking, creating dishes inspired by what she saw growing and blossoming around her.
Skye was the Independent on Sunday’s food writer for five years and has also published three books: A Year in My Kitchen (2006), My Favourite Ingredients (2008) and How I Cook (2010), all to great acclaim.
To celebrate Skye Gyngell’s groundbreaking restaurant in the heart of London, Skye’s most recent book, Spring, presents a collection of mouthwatering original recipes from the restaurant’s menu as well as providing a fascinating insight into the creation of the restaurant itself.
Links
- Petersham Nurseries: owned by Gael and Francesco Boglione
- Ecole de Cuisine La Varenne, the first completely bilingual cooking school in Paris, was founded by Anne Willan. It operated in Paris and Burgundy France, from 1975 until 2007. In July 2014, Willan was awarded the rank of Chevalier in the French Legion of Honor for her accomplishments in promoting the gastronomy of France.
- Chez Panisse Cooking, by Paul Bertoli and Alice Waters
- Briony Fitzgerald, Skye’s sister, and the principal of Briony Fitzgerald Design in Sydney (You can hear Briony in Episode 7 of Season 1 of Unpaused the Podcast)
- Spring
- Fern Verrow is a 16-acre certified biodynamic farm at the foothills of the Black Mountains in Herefordshire. Jane Scotter has been farming this land, cultivating seasonal vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers since 1996
- A Plastic Planet, co-founded by Siån Sutherland
- Valeria Nascimento Porcelain Installations
