Great Pub Chefs - Freedom for food!

His unique approach to food saw Adrian Jones described as a 'gastroterrorist' by fellow chef, Richard Corrigan. Lucy Britner talks to the theatrical maestro of the Spencer Arms.

Adrian Jones became a chef because he couldn't afford drama school. Now, 24 years after he left school, he's still cooking but admits his theatrical streak has a lot to do with it.

As head chef, he plays the lead at the Spencer Arms, the newest gastro pub in Putney, south-west London. Adrian teamed up with pub owner Jamie Sherriff after they met through a mutual friend and now they could be brothers.

"This is the next step for me," says Adrian. "I want my name to become synonymous with gastro pubs and I want to keep working with Jamie." Despite a bumpy start to his career, involving "girls and partying", Adrian has become very serious about food. "I just love cooking and I hate all the bullshit that goes with it," he says. "I believe in flavour and you see all these superstar chefs who give you the impression you have to rush everything and include certain things on your menu. It's rubbish."

Richard Corrigan, chef and proprietor at the Lyndsay House restaurant in Soho, famously described Adrian's cuisine as "gastro terrorism". Says Adrian: "Basically, he said that because we're trying to break away and be unique.

Tradition is ever-changing and I try to keep my feet in tradition but my head moving forwards. 'Gastro terrorism' means decent portion sizes, no fancy stuff on the plate that doesn't need to be there, new ingredients and new cooking methods - but traditional values." Adrian hasn't got Michelin stars in his eyes and is very wary of what fame does to chefs.

"They get blinkered and think awards will bring them happiness," he says, "but I just want this place to be packed out with people enjoying my food. Lots of chefs believe too much of their press and that's a big danger. Once they leave the kitchen and become celebrities, they stop being chefs. I've known Gary Rhodes for 17 years and let's just say he's changed."

Even though he's down to earth, Adrian's theatrical streak is likely to show if you're late for dinner. "I don't believe the customer is always right," he says.

"If you book an appointment with the doctor and show up half an hour late, you miss it, whereas we're expected to hold a table. I also find people want to change the menu - if you go into a shoe shop, you can't ask for different coloured shoes to the ones they have." But if you're a kid, Adrian has time for you: he'll even pop to the Co-op for a tin of baked beans. "Children are the future and I want them to try whatever they like on the menu and if they want beans, I'll go out and get them."

The menu at the Spencer Arms changes daily and Adrian is very selective about what he cooks. "People are always telling us what we should and shouldn't have on the menu - like fish and chips. We'll put it on the menu when the fish is right and we're confident. People do it to death and it's crap. We put foie gras on the Sunday lunch the other week just because we had some left and they loved it.

People rarely eat what you expect them to." Adrian came to the Spencer Arms from the Shibden Mill Inn, Halifax, Yorkshire. "I love the whole gastro thing. That's why I did Shibden," he says.

The Mill became famous for 'guinea-pig' nights when Jones and his team used to experiment with new dishes and charge diners a set price. "We might do guinea pig nights here. We haven't discussed it yet, but the place was always packed. They were very popular."

Apart from practising 'gastro terrorism', Adrian likes to think of himself as a member of the CIS: chefs in shorts. He claims it's all part of "keeping cool in the kitchen" and his strict exercise regime also helps. Adrian cycles 14 miles to work along the Thames tow path from Greenwich everyday and he insists it's nothing to do with keeping off extra weight from too many "cook's perkins".

The 40-year-old Cheltenham native came to the Spencer Arms from a star-studded background. He has worked with Gary Rhodes, Mico, Hopburn and Rick Stein. "I've worked with all the best chefs but that doesn't make me a great chef." But he feels as though he's found his niche in gastro cooking.

His often mischievous outlook suits the laid-back pub atmosphere. "A pub is somewhere you can drink good beer, eat good food and was traditionally where you would stay overnight. So, originally, the best chefs worked in pubs because royalty used to stay overnight." With that, he throws a tea towel over his shoulder and heads back to the kitchen, shorts and all, to clear up after a quiet weekday lunchtime.

Chef's CV​

Name:​ Adrian Jones Born:​ Cheltenham 1965 Experience:​ After he gave up hope of becoming an actor, Adrian's mum got him a job in a hotel kitchen. He stayed for two years and developed a passion for cooking. He then went to work for Robert Elsemore at Buckland Manor, at the time one of the top five restaurants in the country. Adrian says Elsemore was the hardest man he worked for and the true source of all his inspiration. Adrian moved on to work with Gary Rhodes between 1989 and 1991. "Sometimes we worked from 7am until midnight but Gary would always be there before you and still be in the kitchen when you went home." A few years later he ended up at awardwinning gastro pub the Shibden Mill Inn, Yorkshire, before returning to the south and to the Spencer Arms in 2005.

Day-off diary​"I try to spend lots of time with my kids. Sometimes I cook for them and might even get them to peel a few spuds. But I really like eating out and I try to do that as much as possible. I love going to gigs and spend a lot of time on eBay bidding for tickets. I've just bought a motorbike, so that will probably take up a lot of my days off."

Favourites​

Places to eat:​ The Anchor and Hope These guys are gastro terrorists too. The food is simple, but very tasty. I stay away from anywhere famous but this place is good.

Ingredient:​ Pig cheeks No one knows what they are or imagines they will taste so good, especially if they're slowcooked for several hours.

Cooking methods:​ German recipe for making stock Chicken bones, veal bones, pigs' trotters, carrots and onions. Stick them all in the pan, don't do anything with them, cook for six hours, pass off and that's stock.

Cookbooks:​ Simon Hopkinson Roast Chicken and Other Stories. Classic cookbooks by Elizabeth David or Jane Grigson: the ones with no pictures.

In the hot seat​

What do you think the future holds for gastro pubs?​I think British tapas is probably the way forward for pub food. It's all too easy though. Any Tom, Dick and Harry can buy a pub and make it into a restaurant - they're not keeping traditional pub values.

Worst tantrum in the kitchen?​I worked at quite a well-known restaurant in London and they didn't pay any of the kitchen staff, so we decided to play baseball with the crockery until we got paid.

How much do you earn?​ About £40,000 a year.

Tips for chefs starting out?​Don't go for all these crappy horrible knives. Just buy some simple knives because as you get older you'll find you only use a few and people always steal them when you're starting out. Buy some decent classic cookery books. Read and eat out as much as possible. Don't work in your local kitchen when you can start higher up. Give someone like Ramsay a call: they'll soon give you a trial.