Meet the Chef Paul Ainsworth

WWW.TRAVELLINGFEAST.CO.UK

This August (6th – 20th), Paul Ainsworth is presenting a brand-new food, drink, and music festival to Cornwall, touring the county to offer up servings of food from a selection of acclaimed chefs, along with tunes from some of the country’s leading musicians, here Paul tells us all about his Travelling Feast.

Hi Paul, thanks for being our very special Meet the Chef! Please tell us a little bit about the Travelling Feast...

The Travelling Feast is a food, drink and music festival that’s going to travel around beautiful locations in Cornwall, staying for up to two nights at each location – and we’re offering camping, so don’t worry if you think there’s nowhere left to stay in Cornwall this summer! We’ve got glamping or you can bring your own tent. There will be world class chefs, many of them being my really close friends, and we’ll have chef demos, fireside Q&As, and well-being activities including yoga. There will be loads of things going on with a real circus or fairground feel, as well as the most amazing music line up, including the Kaiser Chiefs, Sister Sledge, Faithless, Rudimental, Human League, Jake Bugg, Grandmaster Flash, Norman Jay, and brilliant DJ sets from Danny Rampling and Judge Jules.

I like to look at my style of cooking as flavourful, relatable, and recognisable, and always bringing a smile to your face.

Tell us a little bit about the food you’re looking to showcase. What are you excited for people to taste?

I met with all the chefs a week ago and the dishes sound phenomenal. From the Paul Ainsworth Travelling Feast food truck we are going to be taking our inspiration from a film I’m very fond of called ‘Chef’ and we’re going to be cooking the most amazing grilled cheese sourdough sandwiches with fillings like Davidstow cheddar. Niall Keating’s doing a beautiful Korean-style buttermilk chicken burger with a kimchee slaw on the side and John Hooker is doing his brilliant fish and chips and The Cornish Arms burger. Tom Kerridge is bringing the most amazing pies with pease pudding and a parsley and tarragon liquor, Wild Bake are bringing their delicious wood fired pizzas, and Elements, run by a chef who used to work with us, Jack Clements, is bringing some vegetarian dishes. James Martin is bringing his artisan ice cream van, and we have some incredible doughnuts! So a really wide range of delicious festival food!

How would you describe your cooking style?

My cooking style has always been about trying to get the maximum flavour out of things. I’ve never been interested in making pretty pictures – it’s always been about big flavours. I like to look at my style of cooking as flavourful, relatable, and recognisable, and always bringing a smile to your face.

What rules do you live by in your kitchen?

The rules that I live by in the kitchen are to have strict disciplines but always to be fair; to treat people how I would want to be treated; and to make sure that we have one common goal –to blow people away with our food. My team and I wake up every day trying to be the best versions of ourselves.

What can visitors to the Travelling Feast expect from the festival’s other chefs?

Visitors can expect amazing dishes from the guest chefs and street food vendors, along with brilliant food demos from James Martin, Richard Corrigan, Tom Kerridge, Simon Rimmer and Angela Hartnett on the Paul Ainsworth Academy stage. There will also be fireside Q&As and the opportunity to meet our guest chefs as they walk around the festival. It’s all about great food, great chefs, and a really personal atmosphere. This festival will just hug everyone, bring everyone in and just make everyone feel good about themselves.

What ingredients couldn’t you live without?

If I had to pick one ingredient I couldn’t live without, it would be Cornish Sea Salt.

Finally, what is your guilty food pleasure?

I have so many! I love a beautiful cheese sandwich – but that’s not really a guilty pleasure! l