He trained as a chef in Britain and has made a life in Australia but this ebullient Iberian is devoted to maintaining and promoting his native culture. Born in sunny Murcia in southern Spain, he nurtures his Spanish soul in Sydney's northern beaches with cava, sangria and vast paellas. He lives with his Australian wife Sascha, children Claudia, 3, and Morgan, 1, and extended family next door. Full-time television demands at Channel Ten's The Living Room have ruled out running restaurants for now but have given him a platform to urge everyone to give cooking a go.
The staples
My pantry: I'm an ambassador for Moro olive oil and I have so much of it, I use it for everything including chocolate ganache, shortbread and bechamel. Bomba rice is a very special species and what we Spanish use for paella. It absorbs so much more stock than other kinds. Spanish paprika is essential to picadas, marinades, slow cooking, rubs – you can use it for anything. The sun is so strong where the capsicums are grown and dehydrates them so much, we say that the paprika tastes of the sun. Willie Harcourt-Cooze's chocolate range is amazing.
My fridge:
There's saffron, which stays fresher in the fridge. I love manchego cheese for cheese plates, salads, pizzas, toasties. There's a lot of so-called manchego out there but it should be made from 100 per cent milk from the manchego sheep. Serrano jamon and manchego is our ham-and-cheese toastie. It's an everyday meal but these things are hyped to be exclusive.
I'm cooking
Last dinner at home.
I made fresh cannelloni stuffed with goat cheese and spinach with an almond, olive and zucchini sauce. Above that was this amazing layer of blanched sweet potato slices interspersed with jamon and a whole lot of grated manchego cheese on top.
Secret vice
Churros with chocolate. Definitely a "sometimes" food but I could eat them all day, breakfast, lunch and dinner.
I'm drinking
I love coffee, all day long until 5pm, especially with a bit of condensed milk like we have it in Spain but mostly I just have ordinary milk. Sencha and other tea is for later. Freixenet cava we drink a lot of – I work for them. I'm a Spanish chef and I work for a lot of Spanish brands.
My toolkit
My wife bought me this knife 13 years ago and I bought this one made by Bob Kramer last year; it's one of 170 made in the whole world. The wooden spoon is for when I make a huge paella. I love all my KitchenAid attachments for making pasta.
Favourite
My friend Stefan, who has passed away, gave me this little gypsy knife when he was diagnosed with cancer. Because I travel so much he said I should take it, and his memory, with me everywhere I go and I do. It's with me on every shoot. I'd grab it in a fire, along with my Logie!
Inspiration
I get it from my Mum, my Dad, from life itself. If the sun's shining I'll feel like something cold, if it's freezing I'll make a nice soup. Every day I get inspiration from very simple things.
Kitchen highlight
I'm a simple guy and this is a simple kitchen. It's clean and white and everyone can hang around while I'm cooking. I can also keep an eye on the kids playing in the next room from here.
Most memorable meal
I was on a trip to New Zealand for The Living Room, diving for scallops on the Coromandel Peninsula with a Maori diver and the sea bed was covered in the shellfish. As soon as we touched the first one they all began swimming, it was magical. We took a few to shoot the segment – I was cooking them with chorizo and macadamia butter, but that wasn't the best bit. The most amazing thing was trying them raw first, shucked straight from the shell. Not cooked or seasoned or dressed. Incredible.
QUOTE
I'm so boring, all I know is cooking. All my books are about cooking. I know nothing much about anything else.
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