CHEF INTERVIEW: James Flavell, Kooks, North Laine, Brighton

Meet James Flavell, Head Chef at Kooks Restaurant, Brighton

Devon raised boy who has relocated to Brighton in the last 6 months. James has been in the restaurant and catering industry for over 12 years, working and training in professional kitchens from the age of 14.

From starting off as a pot wash in a country house Hotel on the heart of Dartmoor, James has built up a massive amount of respect for local seasonal produce and how best to cook and present it. Being a former full time musician and part time videographer, James has a natural flare when it comes to creativity, and always tries to adapt even the most simple dishes so there’s elements of his personally on every plate.

Which is your favourite restaurant in Brighton, Hove or Sussex and why?

This is a tricky one to answer because I am new to Brighton; however I currently have a list as long as my arm of restaurants I’d like to visit. I am about 12 in so far! My favourite I’d say, has to be ‘Indian Summer’ because that was a dining experience that was fairly new to me.

I have always been a huge fan of Asian food; be it Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian, or in this case as the title suggests ‘Indian’. I love the huge depth in favours and I feel this sort of food enables you to use more of your senses.

Especially when you feel those chilli’s!

Indian Spiced Chicken Thighs

Unlike most the generic Indian restaurants around this country, ‘Indian Summer’ offers a stripped back menu which consists of around 10 main dishes, which is virtually unheard of on an Asian menu. On entering you’re given a small booklet which consists of chef profiles and their signature dishes. As you sit and look through the interesting menu, all the customers are given an Indian style soup appetizer. Then in between your starter and main the staff bring over a cute little jam jar of complimentary mojito sorbet. I like little surprises like that when I go out to eat! For my main I had sizzling pork with ginger with was brought out on a hot plate. My girlfriend had a beautiful fish dish with lots of lovely condiments.

My experience at this restaurant influenced me to create the ‘Indian Style Chicken Thighs’ dish on our menu at ‘​Kooks’. T​his consists of 3 lovely skin on thighs which are marinated on our own curry paste, natural yogurt and coriander. We then leave for 24 hours before slow roasting the thighs, then crisping up the skin under the grill. We serve with a homemade bahji, fragrant rice and mint raita. Even with a smaller menu​‘Indian Summer’ o​ffers​m​ultiple options for gluten free and dairy free customers. I chose to do the same on my menu. The chicken dish mentioned above is gluten free, and we also offer 3 or 4 dairy free options at ‘Kooks’.

Did you cook when you were growing up, if so who inspired you?

My roots in cooking began from home when I was around 10 years old, and ever since then I have remained self taught, with a little help from some people I have met in kitchens on the way. I have never attended any sort of professional cookery course. I have always just cooked what I’d like to eat myself and somehow this has lead me to a head chef level at restaurant in the heart of the North Lanes in Brighton!

Growing up I liked to experiment a lot in my home kitchen. I’d wait for my parents to leave the house before raiding the larder for random ingredients that I could make a cake out of. Usually I’d find some sort of food colouring and nine times out of ten the end product would be very messy and blue!

Although through my parents allowing me to persist with this somewhat ‘trial and error’ process in the kitchen, after a while I got the hang of the how to combine flavours and create more appealing dishes.
As far as a single person who inspires me I would have to say my mother. As cliche as it sounds, she was the person who made the choice to put decent and varied food on the table from a very early age, which became an invaluable experience for learning the importance of cooking and eating well.

I am also hugely inspired by the whole experience of eating out. Every restaurant I visit plays some part in what I want to do next. Good or bad, I am able to take away pointers from each experience at the dinner table.

Before you became a chef, did you think that’s what you would be doing or something else?

Yes, I always had my heart set on being a professional musician for life, and I just so happened to fulfill part of that dream! By ‘part’ I mean I managed to do this for around 6 years until it all came to an abrupt end. I used to spend my days touring around the UK and the rest of Europe which often meant eating purely to survive! When I’d come back off tour I’d work for agencies doing various jobs in kitchens, just so I had enough money to go back out with the band. In doing this, i’ve been able to learn a lot about how different each kitchen can be. I’d be in a fine dining restaurant one week and then the next be in an old peoples home or a school!

Since becoming a full time chef I have focused on using the same creativity I had as a musician, and transferred it to the kitchen. I like my dishes to be edgy and and sometimes unpredictable; however just like in music, sometimes simple is best.

When I was offered the opportunity to go work at ‘​Kooks’ I ​jumped at the chance, because their whole ethos is based around creativity, music and good food combined. Both the owners Tim and his partner Rebecca used to work in the music industry, so we all gel very well and are generally on the same page when it comes to discussing new ideas for the restaurant.

I am very excited for the future of ‘​Kooks’.