Michael Caines MBE is a renowned English chef and restaurateur, celebrated for his modern European cuisine and dedication to the culinary arts. He gained prominence as the head chef at Gidleigh Park, where he earned two Michelin stars. Currently, he is the chef-owner of Lympstone Manor, a luxury hotel and restaurant in Devon, which also holds a Michelin star. Michael Caines is also deeply involved in nurturing the next generation of culinary talent through the Michael Caines Academy at Exeter College. This academy provides aspiring chefs and hospitality professionals with high-profile experiences, practical and theoretical workshops, and masterclasses from industry experts.
Michael Caines has appeared on numerous television programmes, including “MasterChef” and “The Great British Menu”, and has been recognised with several awards, including an MBE for services to the hospitality industry.
I was very excited when Michael agreed to chat with me, and I was not disappointed. He has been an inspiration to so many in this industry, including myself, and it was a fun morning of delving a bit deeper into the many interests that make him tick. Happily we can also wish him and Lympstone manor a happy 8th Birthday! “It feels like only yesterday that we opened our doors, yet here we are eight years on – I am so proud of what we’ve built, grateful for the memories we’ve shared, and excited for what lies ahead.”
What does your Monday morning routine look like?
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday – it’s all really similar. I get up and generally I’m out the door anywhere between 8am to 9am at the latest so that I’m at work by 9am or 9:30am. I’ll pop into the office, drop things off, get changed into my chef’s jacket and then head straight into the kitchen, catch up with the team, see how many covers we’ve got, and make sure we’re prepping. Then I’ll have a look to make sure breakfast is OK with the Front of House team, then on to every other department – make sure the lounge and bars are clean and tidy, say ‘Hello’ to all my staff as I do the grounds tour. Generally, I don’t have any appointments until about 10 o’clock, so that gives me a little bit of time to get up to date with everything that’s going on in the morning. By 12pm I’ll start focusing on first service which takes me to about 3pm onwards where there might be a meeting or two before my alarm goes off at 6pm for evening service. I’ll generally peel off the evening service at 10pm to do some more work till about 12 or 1am then I head home.
If you could time travel and have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be and why?
I think I’ve got to go back to some of the people that inspired me as a young man growing up. Whilst controversial at the time, Mandela, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Gandhi – some of these amazing activists have done incredible things. Einstein and even back to Aristotle – the great minds of people that have shaped our civilisation as we know it.
From a culinary perspective, we’ve lost some greats but I think I’ve met most of my heroes. I’ve had dinner with Paul Bocuse. Fernand Point kind of liberated chefs from the kitchen. They’re architects of modern cuisine as it is today. I know the food wasn’t that glamorous in the 1950s but I think it’s more the mindset of chefs at the time.
What’s your all-time favourite movie, and why?
Movies are a really tough question as there are so many great movies! I love war films. Platoon, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, Gladiator – they make you sit up and think. Anything that brings the past to life in a very vivid way, I find fascinating. It’s a glimpse back into history. It documents moments that were real. I also think Interstellar is amazing because I love the concept of space travel and the idea that there’s a completely different dimension out there. Movies like Star Wars, The Matrix, the first Alien were also groundbreaking when they came out. So, I’ve got a broad range of films I like and directors who create multiple amazing films like Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Tarantino and James Cameron, but I don’t think there is one particular film that stands out!
What are you currently reading?
I’m not a great reader, I’ve got to tell you, other than the reading of emails and I’ve got plenty of cookbooks! I think it’s probably because there’s not enough time, so I tend to listen to audiobooks. I have plenty of imagination to take me away to a place that is not where I’m sat. When I grab a book or listen to an audiobook, I want to be informed, educated or to broaden my perspective on life. As I get older I question my sense of being, my sense of purpose. I’ve got a deep belief that people are pretty much the same wherever you go and are just shaped by our circumstances and those circumstances could be religious, social or culturally very different. I like to find out about life and people. I enjoy philosophy, people who talk about great mindfulness and achieving. I enjoy people like Graham Hancock who talk about this idea of there being a lost civilisation.
What’s a hidden talent or skill that most people don’t know you possess?
I like to paint and I’m quite artistic in that regard so, if I pick up a paintbrush and start to paint, I can knock out a good picture! That’s something I enjoy doing and I find it very meditative.
If you could visit any place in the world right now, where would you go?
I’d probably go to Asia. Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Japan… It’s one area where I just haven’t spent enough time. I’d love to travel through India too. I just think there’s great food there. It’s such a vast area with so many different countries and cultural experiences. I think to travel through some of the key areas would be quite spiritual. Anything you’re doing in cooking culturally relates to food. Where you find great civilisations, you always find great food and if ever there was a cooking star that makes something from nothing, I think India with their spices and their amazing ability to blend flavours is it.
What is your most memorable foodie childhood memory?
I think it’s probably sitting around the table with my parents and family. We didn’t really go out for holidays, but the table was where we got together and shared. We’d talk and there were no distractions, no TV, no mobile phones – just conversation. Looking back, I thought everybody’s childhood was like that! It was humble food, nothing special but ultimately it was the social aspect of getting around the table.
Name one thing on your bucket list that you still need to do.
From a professional point of view, the ambition I want to achieve is that next Michelin star. In my personal life, it is ultimately to have more time to travel and discover some of those amazing places and civilisations. I think all the questions you’ve asked kind of point to this – time to read, time to play, time to travel. Describing my Monday, which is really an average day for me, makes me realise I’m doing this six days a week and it compounds the reality that I’ve got one day to fit everything else into. One of the things that I really crave is a better work-life balance.
What’s your favourite way to unwind and de-stress?
Walking and running in Dartmoor. Indoor cycling. It’s activities that allow me thinking time. The drive home from work is rewarding in the sense it’s half an hour of listening to music in the car that gives me a chance to unwind. Time with the family, with the children is also important to me. It’s not always relaxing though!
Share a quote or motto that inspires you or by which you live your life.
Oh, I’ve got two! The first is ‘Don’t be limited by your own imagination, but be inspired by other people’s achievements.’ And the second is ‘No reason, just Passion’. That’s the two I live my life by. When other people achieve something, achieve greatness, that inspires me to be more creative, to push the limits and sometimes in life you don’t need a reason to do something. You just need a passion. If you get up in the morning and do something just for the sake of doing it, there is no enjoyment. There is no drive. That’s just a job and perhaps people do that but you have to be passionate. That passion creates the drive to get up in the morning, to work six days a week. Those sayings are really important to me, and one goes before the other when I do a speech. It’s my most quoted sayings but ultimately my hashtag says ‘No reason, just Passion’!
What job is your favourite you’ve ever had and what made it so special?
There are two defining periods of my professional life. One was working at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons with Raymond Blanc. I spent three years there and I’ve described it as going through puberty! I gained experience and was exposed to a number of different things, progressing from a young commis chef up the ranks to one of the senior members. I also learned a lot about the regional food of France and the importance of seasonal food. It was a very formative time for me and without it, there wouldn’t be a Lympstone Manor!
The other important period in my life was working in France under Bernard Loiseau and Joël Robuchon. In France, I learnt more than just cooking. I learnt about the lifestyle of food, the importance of food connections to the regions, the wine, the lifestyle and philosophy of the French. The two chefs were very contrasting, but they probably didn’t impact me quite as profoundly as my time at Quat’Saisons. Each chef brought something different. Whether it was with Raymond and the regional and seasonal element or going to France where it was all about flavour and regional foods and a very simplistic, healthy way of looking at cuisine, or whether it was working for Robuchon in Paris with his attention to detail – they all played their part.
What’s the most adventurous thing you’ve ever done?
The biggest adventure I’ve been on is going to South America, seeing the coffee growers, going up Machu Picchu and walking some of the old Inca trails. It’s quite hairy – health and safety in places like Peru don’t exist and you’re walking up the side of a mountain with a sheer 3000-foot fall! It was great because it’s such a different environment.
What is your favourite food/drink product on the market right now and why?
Setting aside my own wines here at Lympstone Manor, I think Luscombe products are pretty great from a non-alcoholic point of view! They’ve got a massive product list and Gabriel has done a really good job. They’ve got a good story and I love what they do. From an alcoholic point of view, I think the guys at Lime Bay Winery make some great wines, so I’d like to give them a shout out.
What would you do if you weren’t in the food, drink & hospitality industry?
There are a couple of things I could have done and they’re quite creative. Interior design and architecture would be two where I can create concepts to do with hospitality – designing restaurant and hotel interiors. I’ve also become quite good at Marketing and Sales and understanding brands but beyond the industry, I think I would make a great archaeologist – I love it. If I have the opportunity in later life to retire and do a hobby it would be archaeology.
What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
Other than insects, which is odd, I think probably spinal cord and brains. They’re very delicate and are still a delicacy in some parts of the world, but you just don’t see people cooking that here anymore. That and other offal dishes are things that we used to eat but simply don’t eat now.
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