Essex chef ROB PEARCE has just won two more awards. Rob, who is head chef at Orsett Hall’s the Garden Brasserie restaurant, was last week crowned Top Chef at the Essex Life Fine Food and Drink Awards. This was on top of being awarded the title Chef of the Year at the Essex Hospitality and Tourism Awards in 2013.

Not bad for 28 years old.

We gave Rob a grillling about his job and asked how he feels about encouraging young people to get into cooking.

You’ve won a lot of awards for such a young age, what motivates you to keep serving up the best dishes you can?

“The young team I work with keep me on my toes.

They are just brilliant – also going out to the fashionable places to eat also helps.”

Is cooking your life? Could you imagine doing any other job, if so what would it be?

“I couldn’t imagine doing anything else, although I’m really into golf at the moment. I’m nowhere near good enough to be professional but we can all dream!”

Do you think enough is being done to encourage Essex youngsters to become chefs and get into cooking?

Do you think it’s a profession that isn’t pushed hard enough in schools?

“I still believe that families should still encourage their kids to eat food at a table, dinners should be planned with the children involved and get them passionate about what they are going to eat whether it be a a homemade cottage pie or something quick and simple like boiled eggs and soldiers.

“I remember when I was at school I would spend more time drawing pictures of the food I wanted to cook than actually cooking it.

“For many it seemed to be the easy option to take at school, but going into college and working with people that actually share the same passion for food is such a big thing.

I am looking for chefs to join my brigade and finding the right candidate is proving very hard.”

What three qualities would you say you need to make it in the best kitchens?

“A thick skin would be brilliant and is probably number two on the list but I think passion has to be number one. Number three is patience – as when you get to a stage of your career that then sees you teaching the trade to the younger chefs coming through I would say this really comes into play.

“Not everyone has the same skill level but everyone is trying to get to be head chef I must be wary of this.”

What’s the most popular dish on your menu at The Garden Brasserie at the moment?

“I would say the most popular dish on our current menu would be the scallop dish. It’s a classic with freshly podded peas, crispy pancetta and pea puree – it just works.”

Do you have a quick and easy recipe you like to whisk up at home?

“My favourite quick and easy recipe would have to be pasta with tomato sauce and fresh herbs, so simple but such a quick dish to make.”

What’s the most vivid memory you have of being in a kitchen?

“It has to be standing next to my first head chef Tim Tolley at the serving hatch at Plateau restaurant in Canary Wharf and seeing the chefs pick up the pace setting up for service at 11am.

“They were getting ready for what would be another onslaught on checks coming through the ticket machine and he turned to me and asked if I was ready.

“The butterflies in my stomach were saying no but for some reason a ‘yes’ came out. I remember the lunch service finishing and Tim grabbing my shoulders and saying ‘great well done...same again tonight’!”