We take a quick look into the life of Kikkoman Masters 2018 finalist Terry O'Riordan.
Name: Terry O'Riordan
Age: 32
Current Restaurant: Restaurant Associates
Previous Restaurants: Excel Exhibition Centre
Hometown: Billericay
Favourite Hobbies: Shooting and walking my labradors when not in the kitchen or on dad duties.
Favourite Cookbook: Leith's technique bible
Favourite Kitchen Gadget: Thermo mix
Kikkoman Masters Dishes -
Starter: Kikkoman Soy & Honey Glazed Scallop, braised cracked freekeh with creamed avocado & green harissa, peas and edamame beans
Main: Loin of Essex Fallow deer (stalked by myself in Dunmow Essex) wellington brushed with Kikkoman’s wasabi & teriyaki with shiitake mushroom & Kikkoman’s Soy Duxelle, Cannons of pan roasted red potatoes, young beets, pumpkins, chilli & Kikkoman soy puree with a sautéed kale finished with a Kikkoman plum wine reduction
What is your first food memory: cooking with my grandmother during school holidays
Did you grow up in a cooking family? Yes my family are very good cooks and my parents had a small outside catering company when I was younger.
Who has influenced your cooking the most: A chef called Trevor Hand.
Why did you become a chef? I always loved the energy of the kitchen when I would go to work with my mum during events that they were catering for. I always wanted to be a part of it from a young age.
Where did you train? I went SEEC catering college in Southend in Essex on a day release apprenticeship while I worked at The Café in the Crypt on Trafalgar Square.
What did you want to be when you grew up? I have always wanted to be a chef
Who are your favourite chefs? Marco Pierre White, Gordon Ramsey and the Roux family
Other than your restaurant, what is your favourite restaurant? Rules of London
What music do you enjoy cooking to: anything with a good beat
What was the last book you read? World War Z
What is your favourite ingredient (apart from Kikkoman Soy Sauce): Stem ginger
What do you think is the next food trend? Chinese street food fusion
What food is your guilty pleasure? Watching box sets on Netflix
Is there one food you really don’t like? Not keen on raw coriander
Worst kitchen nightmare? Having all my KP’S call in sick - they are the back bone of the kitchen!
Most memorable meal? Eating at Claridges when it was Gordon Ramsey’s when I was 12. Was my first real taste of high end dining
Last meal on earth? My Nan’s mac & cheese
