Cooking with Darren Wilgoose, from The Starr restaurant in Great Dunmow

Darren Wilgoose, sous chef at the starr Restaurant in Great Dunmow, reveals all about his time cooking for an essex rock star and coming off second best to a meat slicer

Where do you work?

I am sous chef at The Starr Restaurant in Great Dunmow.

What is your earliest food memory?

It has to be my nan’s homemade sausage pie.

What was your first ever job and where was it?

My first job was working at Basildon market on a girl’s underwear stall.

What was it about food which excited you enough to make a career out of it?

I enjoy the fact that you never stop learning and also the daily buzz of working in the kitchen.

If you weren’t on the stoves, where would you be now?

Working in roofing, probably.

Who would you love to cook for and why?

I’d love to be able to cook for Tom Kerridge. He’s a great chef and I love his food, he’s also a big guy rather like myself!

How would your team describe you?

Hopefully up to date, and I’d like to think they would say I do things the right way and that I’m very dedicated.

Which is your favourite dish to prepare?

Good humble pie and roast vegetables.

Which three ingredients are your favourites to work with?

Offal, pork and rabbit.

Who was your inspiration to take up cooking and how do they affect what you do now?

My mum and dad put the idea into my head and they helped to get me on my way into this career path. When I’m not in the kitchen, I love nothing better than…

Being at the pub with the boys and playing golf.

Tell us a bit about you at home – where do you originally come from and how did you end up here?

I’m from Basildon and I currently live at home. I suppose I’m just like any other 21 year old. It was thanks to my friend, Adam, that I got the job working here at The Starr Restaurant.

At home – who lives there and who cooks most of the time?

I am still living with my mum at the moment and she does the cooking.

Are there any celebrity moments you can share with us?

I worked for Anthony Demetre at Wild Honey in Mayfair and I have also cooked for Rod Stewart in the past. When I was little I wanted to be a...

Professional golfer.

Kitchen disasters? Can you tell us about one you’d rather forget?

I once managed to cut my hand on the meat slicer – ouch!

If you could change one thing about you, what would it be?

Nuffing, except my ability to spell.

What is still on life’s list of things to do?

Lots of things, really, but firstly it will be to get my own house!

Can you give us three top tips for the kitchen?