On his TV programme, Steve likes to show audiences

Interviewer:  With us today is Steve Thomas, a 23 year-old chef who delights TV audiences with his imaginative cooking programme. Steve, what’s the secret of your success?
Steve:  Well, I think I’m different from other TV chefs in that I want people to see how I prepare a dish from the word go, so I don’t present them with a dish that’s half prepared already. If anything should go wrong during the programme, know, suppose something gets burned, well, that’s part of the experience. When they try preparing it themselves, then they’ll see the beauty of the finished product, but not on the screen.
Interviewer:   So how did you come to get your own TV series?
Steve:  I was working in a restaurant called the Gala in December last year when they came to make a documentary about the place. I didn’t even look at the camera.I was too busy making pasta and cooking fish. But the producer spotted me and the following week they phoned me to offer me a job... The Gala owner wished me all the best and let me go without a complaint.
Interviewer:  Wow!! Now, is it true that you come from a family of cooks?
Steve:  Well, you could say that ... I started cooking at the age of eight. My mum and dad have a restaurant and Dad used to do all the cooking back then. My mum was too busy looking after us ... Dad insisted that if I wanted some money, I should work for it. And it seemed a lot more interesting to help out in the kitchen and see how things were made than to earn my money washing Dad’s car ...
Interviewer:  You attended a catering course at college. How did you like that?
Steve:  At school I wasn’t very good at anything much. At that time, my mind wasn’t on anything other than cooking. I found sitting in a classroom trying to pay attention to things very very trying. I managed to get to college though and there I was fine, because when it came to the actual cooking, I knew what I was doing. I realised that a bit of academic work didn’t do you any harm either and I found it much easier when I was interested in the subject, and so I’ve no regrets, really.
Interviewer:  And now you have a TV programme and several cooks working under your orders. How do you get on with them?
Steve:   Oh, I love working with them. But on my programme everyone has to be really special. They need to have gone through college training before they even apply for the job. I suppose the problem is that fairly frequently I tend to raise my voice if they don’t work emciently ... but I’m just as likely to praise them if they do well ... What I say to them is, you want the audience to say we are the best, so we need to make a special effort ...
Interviewer:   Is there any chef celebrity that you admire especially?
Steve:  I definitely think that Ron Bell is the best, and I’m pleased that he’s now got his own food column in a newspaper. I had the great privilege of working with him for a while. What’s so special about him is that he’s always been enthusiastic about using ingredients that come from the area where he works ... For example the fish of the day would be the catch from the river close to his restaurant. He’s been criticised for sticking to old-fashioned recipes, maybe that’s a weakness, but I think that’s his decision ...
Interviewer:   I heard that you are also going to write a book.
Steve:  Yes, I’m writing it at the moment. It may disappoint readers who expect a lot of glossy pictures, as most cookbooks nowadays seem to be things to look at rather than read ... I’ve gone for a style that may be less attractive with fewer colour pictures but it will be more useful for most types of reader. What I say in my book is that we must remember the success of a meal does not depend on how it looks ... it’s what it tastes like and the company of the friends you’ll share it with that matters ...
Interviewer:  Well, thank you, Steve, I look forward to trying some recipes ...