Daniel Clifford (chef)

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Daniel Clifford
Daniel Clifford.jpg
Clifford at The Cube in 2012
Born (1973-08-06) 6 August 1973 (age 51)
Canterbury, Kent
EducationCanterbury High School
SpouseAlice Clifford
Children5
Culinary career
Cooking styleFrench/British
Rating(s)
Current restaurant(s)
Previous restaurant(s)
  • The Flitch of Bacon Etoile Michelin-1.svg (no longer held)
Television show(s)
Award(s) won
  • Winner of Great British Menu for 2012 and 2013
    Chefs Chef of the Year award for 2015/2016 AA awards

Daniel Clifford (born 6 August 1973) is an English chef who is best known for his work at the two Michelin star restaurant Midsummer House. He was also named one of the winners of the 2012 and 2013 series of the BBC television show the Great British Menu . He was chef patron of a gastro pub in Little Dunmow, Essex, named The Flitch of Bacon, which held one Michelin star from 2018 to 2021. Daniel is married to his wife Alice and has five daughters and two stepsons.

Contents

Early life

Clifford was born 6 August 1973 in Canterbury, Kent. His father is Tony Clifford and his mother is Denise Clifford, née Wynn. He attended Canterbury High School. [1]

Career

Clifford was first employed in a restaurant in 1989 as a commis chef at the Howfield Manor Hotel in his home town of Canterbury, Kent. He moved in 1992 to become the first commis chef at The Bell Inn in Aston Clinton, and became a demi-chef de partie at Marco Pierre White's Box Tree through 1993. He was chef de partie at Millers in Harrogate, sous chef at Provence Restaurant in Hordle, and chef de partie at Jean Bardet Restaurant in Tours. [1] He became a senior sous chef at Rascasse in Leeds in 1996, where he worked until being named head chef of his restaurant Midsummer House in 1998. [2]

Clifford was awarded his second Michelin star at Midsummer House in the 2005 list. [3] It was the only new restaurant to earn a second Michelin star that year, and became one of eleven restaurants in the UK and Ireland to be at that level of the Michelin Guide's scheme. [4]

He opened a gastropub called "The Headley" in Great Warley, Essex, in May 2007. He acted as chef patron to the new venture, and hired Scott Wade as head chef to take charge of the day-to-day running of the pub to enable Clifford to continue working at Midsummer House. [5] [6]

His main course of chicken and a sweetcorn egg accompanied by spinach with bacon and peas was the winning main course for the banquet in the 2012 series of the BBC television show the Great British Menu . [7] He sees his television work as a good source of publicity, but prefers to concentrate on working in the kitchen. [8] He was also one of a number of chefs scheduled to cook at a pop-up restaurant entitled The Cube on London's South Bank during the summer in 2012. [9]

On 5 October 2015 Clifford was awarded the Chefs Chef of the Year at the 2015/16 AA awards held at the Grosvenor House Hotel. He was praised for turning Midsummer House into one of the country's finest restaurants, while being an "inspiration to so many chefs at all levels". [10]

As of 2020, Daniel Clifford changed the menu at his restaurant, removing all plant-based options and ceasing to cater but for a handful of dietary restrictions. The chef said this would allow his team to work more efficiently, and focus on executing dishes to perfection. [11]

In 2021, the chef was a co-host on The Staff Canteen's Grilled podcast. [12] In one episode featuring his fellow Great British Menu contestant, chef owner of Michelin-starred Loch Bay Restaurant on the Isle of Skye, Michael Smith, the chefs discussed the price of fine-dining food, [13] arguing that the cost of ingredients and staff justifies the high cost. Comparatively, he said that a meal at Salt Bae's London restaurant, Nusr-Et, where it costs £630 for a steak, is not good value for money, calling chef and restaurateur Nusret Gökçe 'Mickey Mouse.' [14]

Influences

He credits Heston Blumenthal and Ferran Adrià as influences, and experiments with molecular gastronomy, leading to his restaurant Midsummer House being nicknamed "The Fat Duckling" after Blumenthal's The Fat Duck. [15] He also forages for ingredients. [16]

He also credits his time spent in France with chef Jean Bardet as teaching him the value of quality ingredients, and seeing foie gras in a different light. [8]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Clifford, Daniel, (born 6 Aug. 1973), Chef/Patron: Midsummer House Restaurant, Cambridge, since 1998; Flitch of Bacon, Little Dunmow, Essex, since 2015". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U256521. ISBN   978-0-19-954088-4 . Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  2. ↑ "Daniel Clifford, Esq's Biography". Debretts. Archived from the original on 10 September 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  3. ↑ "2 Michelin Star Chefs". The Staff Canteen. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  4. ↑ "Chef celebrates restaurant honour". BBC News. 21 January 2005. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  5. ↑ "Midsummer House's Daniel Clifford to open pub". Caterer and Hotelkeeper. 21 August 2006. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  6. ↑ Bruce, Jo (15 May 2007). "Michelin chef opens Essex pub". Morning Advertiser. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  7. ↑ Bull, Rachel (8 June 2012). "Kudos creative director triumphs on Great British Menu". Event Magazine. Archived from the original on 15 June 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  8. 1 2 "Daniel Clifford, Midsummer House, Cambridge". The Staff Canteen. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  9. ↑ "Luxury London meal from Sat Bains sparks new look at food". Nottingham Post. 5 June 2012. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  10. ↑ "Daniel Clifford and Robin Hutson scoop top AA". 5 October 2015.
  11. ↑ "'I had a long conversation with someone who was threatening to send 70,000 vegetarians to come and attack me'". www.thestaffcanteen.com. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  12. ↑ "Grilled by The Staff Canteen". SoundCloud. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  13. ↑ "Daniel Clifford, Michael Smith: Why does it cost so much to eat at a Michelin-starred restaurant?". www.thestaffcanteen.com. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  14. ↑ S3 Ep29 - Daniel Clifford and Michael Smith , retrieved 17 March 2022
  15. ↑ "Foodies' next frontier". The Globe and Mail. 20 October 2004. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  16. ↑ Clay, Xanthe (29 April 2011). "The really wild show: Foraging for ingredients". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
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