Today we hear from our first chef from the Isle of Wight, Alan Staley, head chef at The Royal Hotel in Ventnor, one of the leading Four Star hotels on the isle. It was built in 1832 and is one of only 30 hotels to be listed in every Michelin Guide since it was first published in 1911!

Name: Alan Staley

Where do you currently work?
The Royal Hotel, Ventnor, Isle of Wight

What is your role?
Head Chef

What are your favourite ingredients and why?
Isle of Wight asparagus - it's unbeatable, shame the season is so short!

Sea Bass - We get it brought into the kitchen half an hour after being landed, it is stunning, absolutely world class.

Strawberries, middle of summer, home grown, fantastic!

Which kitchen gadget(s) are you particularly fond of? 
Clifton water bath
Vita Prep 3
Vac pac machine
The kitchen coffee machine - keeps us fully fueled!! 

What is your favourite food memory?
Tasting menu at Gordon Ramsay - Hospital Road, food was great but the service lives long in my memory, (Jean-Claude Breton) incredible.

I worked on-board QE2 and we did a buffet on the open deck for our arrival into Singapore and were met with a flash flood which lasted about half an hour, washing away ice carvings etc a lot of our hard work was ruined, but it was one of those situations where if we hadn't laughed we would have cried!

Who do you most admire in the culinary world?
Marco Pierre White
Tom Aikens
Philip Howard
Anton Edelmann 
Luke Matthews

What country do you most like to visit for their cuisine?
France. The hotel has a chalet in the Alps and we go there frequently, the local village restaurants serve simple and amazing local foods that put many restaurants in this country to shame.

Do you have any guilty food secrets?
I like Big Macs, but to be honest i don't really feel guilty about it!

Have you had any culinary disasters?
The closest we came to a disaster was during an outside catering event for 180 people when a trestle table collapsed and we lost about 20-30 portions of a main course garnish, luckily we always carry extra prep so all turned out ok (this made me realise that carrying extra mise en place is a very good idea!!)

What tips would you give to any aspiring chefs?
Only work in good establishments with people who care about what they do. Eat out as much as possible in Michelin-star restaurants.
Get your head down, work hard and don't be late!

Ben Varley is the head chef at the Rock Hotel and Churchill's restaurant in Halifax, West Yorkshire. It's a traditional 17th century wayside Inn, set in the heart of the scenic and rural valley of Holywell Green. The restaurant provides traditional British meals, with a modern attitude towards presentation. Ben recently appeared on BBC2’s MasterChef: The Professionals. From over 1000 chefs that applied, Ben was one of the 60 chefs chosen to appear - read on to discover his cheffing secrets!

Name: Ben Varley

Where do you currently work?
The Rock Hotel and Churchills restaurant

What is your role?
Head Chef

What are your favourite ingredients and why?
It depends really, sometimes it's the simple things like really fresh English asparagus or rhubarb, sometimes wild garlic or edible flowers - we grow our own bits and peices.
Other things I really like are the freeze dried texturas range of fruits, they're a fantastic product really versatile.
But in general, if it's in season and in good nick, then it's on my mind!

Which kitchen gadget(s) are you particularly fond of? 
We use the water bath daily, I couldn't live without it and we're always finding new uses for it. Also, we have just bought a smoke gun and a candy floss machine so we are having fun with those right now!

You can't beat a good slotted turner (wushoff or global) and a victorinox pastry knife!!

What is your favourite food memory?
I've had some incredible meals. A 7 course truffle tasting in paris for example, and my birthday at Royal Hospital road. The food there was flawless.

Who do you most admire in the culinary world?
Simon Rogan, Ben Spalding, Thomas Keller, Charlie Trotter, Sat Bains - all guys who cook outside-the-box, true inspirations.

Top of the list has to be Marco though...when he's not doing stock cube ad's...

What country do you most like to visit for their cuisine?
New York and Paris were both amazing, would love to go to Tokyo and San Sebastian...

Do you have any guilty food secrets?
McDonalds - it's dirty and wrong, but i cant help it, ha ha ha!

Have you had any culinary disasters?
Plenty!!! Constantly pushing yourself to the limit means there's bound to be screw ups - just learn from them. I cut the tip of my finger off on MasterChef Proffesionals this year as well....I think that can go down as a disaster!!!

What tips would you give to any aspiring chefs?
Work hard and read as much as you can. Don't be afraid to make mistakes and enjoy your cooking - nobody cooks good food when they're not enjoying it.