He credits both his Norfolk upbringing and his mother, the first person to teach him about the pleasure of eating well, for his flair for cooking inventive food with simple, good quality ingredients. His latest venture, Muse by Tom Aikens, marks a return to the world of fine-dining, delivering ‘experience-led’ dishes in an intimate 25-cover mews house, once again in Chelsea.
Here he tells us which blog helps him to keep on top of the ever-faster moving world of restaurateurs and why it’s best never to unleash the trolls on social media – unless, of course, you really believe the cause to be worth it.
My favourite website...
Amazon. There is nothing you can’t find on there.
My favourite app...
Netflix. Great for when I'm travelling and working overseas.
My favourite blog...
The World's 50 Best Restaurants. It's always good to stay on top of who's doing what. There is so much going on with so many new restaurants opening all over the world, and it all happens much quicker these days.
My favourite podcast...
Desert Island Discs is always great. And for comedy value, Off Menu with James Acaster and Ed Gamble is a hoot.
My most recent buy online...
A book by Jeremy Umansky called Koji Alchemy, which I bought from Amazon. It’s all about the processes, concepts, and recipes for fermenting foods with koji.
Last book you downloaded or read...
Endless numbers of cookbooks.
Favourite tweeter...
Barack Obama.
Favourite Instagrammer...
ChefSteps.
Favourite tech gadget...
My Mac. It's my travelling office.
The most useful gadget/item on your desk...
My phone charger and my earphones.
Most useful digital resource during lockdown...
Toothache. It's an online food magazine made by chefs for chefs. It features recipes, stories, and conversations with some of the world's best professional chefs.
First thing/app you look at on your mobile when you wake up/in the morning...
Emails and WhatsApp.
Last thing you binge-watched...
Vikings.
Favourite brands have you discovered online...
Mr Porter.
Social media allowed me to meet...
Many great people, including friends from a long time ago and people in the industry.
The best digital advice I've been given...
Unless you feel a need to stand up for what you truly and passionately believe in, never try to get too politically involved on social media as you won't please everyone with your views. It only opens up room for negative people to get involved and then it spirals.
My screensaver is...
My two daughters.
My standout online memory...
Video calling through the likes of Skype and Facetime for the first time. My twin brother lives in the States, so it made catching up with him much better.
My pet online hate is...
Negative people who just get a thrill out of being unnecessarily vile.
Do you have any online rules or resolutions?
Make sure you keep a list of passwords safe somewhere. I've locked myself out of many things before.
The Internet. On balance, a force for good or ill?
As long as you're using it for the right reasons, then good in general.
By Nancy Alsop
September 2021
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