My kitchen is … tight, but I like it. I just moved into a place in Notting Hill, London. The first thing we did was give it a lick of paint and put up our shelves. I have an eclectic collection of glassware and crockery that I like to display, and all my cookbooks too. The flat came with the world’s smallest cooker, and it’s probably older than I am. It’s basically a cast-iron box with four elements that light up red and get hotter and hotter. I cooked for a bunch of friends over Christmas and managed to set the kitchen alight: we had to get the fire blanket out. I also found out that day that the oven didn’t work. The landlord seems reluctant to change it, so I’ll probably stick with it – it’s a challenge.
My favourite kitchen tool is … a toss-up between a rubber-ended spatula and a pestle and mortar. They work in harmony: you blitz up a sauce, then get every last drop out of the bowl with the spatula. Very satisfying.
My storecupboard staple is … good Spanish olive oil and sherry vinegar. I grew up in Spain, and go back often. I get local oil from Zahara de los Atunes, on the Atlantic coast. The vinegars are amazing, deep and dark in colour, like a Pedro Ximenez. It goes in everything.
When I’m starving I … make a pitta sandwich with cheese, salad leaves and sriracha. If I had an oven, I’d put it in there. Failing that, I’d make a pitta pan toastie: in a pan, with another pan on top to flatten it.
My culinary inspiration is … the garden where I grew up in Spain. I got into gardening before cooking. I started growing my own veg when I was 12 or 13: aubergines, peppers, onions, tomatoes … Our neighbour gave me a bunch of potted lemongrass, and when I go home now, it’s like a forest – I’m so proud. A formative memory is of me and my mate Matt – we call him Marcona – getting pissed after we graduated from school, then harvesting pine nuts from a tree and basil from the garden, and making pesto pasta. He’s now the restaurant manager at Carousel.
My best-kept kitchen secret is … a good playlist for cooking to. My favourite on Spotify is Crystal and Murray’s Dinner by Mr Saturday Night, two DJs from NYC.
When I’m invited to dinner I always take … either a jar of elderberry vinegar I made in the summer or, if I forget, a nice bottle of wine. Right now, Matassa Cuvée Marguerite, a white from Montner in France, is my favourite. It has nice depth; it’s succulent, savoury, quite funky.
Everything tastes better with … pickles and chilli.
When I go shopping I … don’t write a list – I do enough of that at work – I just go for it. Last night, I made guinea fowl with tomato and chicken liver sauce and crushed potatoes. Unexpected and amazing.
For dinner tonight … I’ll probably make something Sichuanese: smashed cucumbers with chilli and peanuts, spinach wth black rice vinegar, fish with fragrant aubergines and some rice.
Ollie Templeton is a chef and co-owner of restaurant and ‘creative hub’ Carousel, London; @carousel_london; @templetonollie
