Chef and patron of Myrtle Restaurant in swanky Chelsea, Anna Haugh is a familiar face on TV screens with appearances on BBC’s Ready Steady Cook, Saturday Kitchen, Sunday Brunch and most recently on Masterchef: The Professionals. We caught up with Anna to discuss her first food memories, her way to the top and her first cookery book that launches this summer.
How did your career in food begin?
My mother taught us all how to cook, so by the age of 12 I could whip up a full family roast for six people on my own from scratch. I must have enjoyed it as I could have been out with my pals. On one occasion, my friend’s mum Liz Dunn said to me when I was finishing school – ‘Anna I think you should be a chef – you become alive and change in the kitchen’. I remember laughing and not really thinking much of it but I asked at school about courses in professional cookery. At the time, there really wasn’t much available.
Then one day, I found myself in a kitchen, in a sea of stainless-steel and something just clicked in my belly. It’s weird but for the first time in my life I felt like I belonged. I waited for the chefs to come in and just asked them – how do I do this? I was in Jersey at the time so went back to Ireland and signed on to study professional cookery. The road to Myrtle began there.
Once the decision was made to go with professional cookery, did you have clear goals in your mind?
It’s a good question and one I have been asked a lot recently. It’s funny but I was never asked this question five years ago. I didn’t really have any big dream or vision of being head chef, a big celeb chef or even having my own restaurant. I just wanted to feel confident and comfortable in the job. I wanted to know all the answers. Why did that mousse split? Why didn’t it rise? My biggest drive was to work in kitchens that could help me answer all of those questions. I looked for kitchens that were driven by accuracy, discipline and finesse. I wanted to be in those environments. Sometimes luck does come into it. I was lucky the decisions I made and the places I went to propelled me forward and into the world of food and dining.
You have lots going on in your working life – is there a favourite part?
It will always come back to my restaurant, Myrtle. That is always where my first passion will lie. Saying that I have been in kitchens for over 20 years, so the TV work takes me out of my comfort zone and is very enjoyable. TV is a buzz because it’s live, anything can happen so you’re learning new skills and exercising your brain in different ways. I get a little nervous before TV, but I love the pressure and the nerves. Nerves are healthy. My team hate it as sometimes I’ve come back and changed the whole menu just to challenge myself and ensure continuous improvement. You need a certain amount of pressure in life.
What’s your latest news?
We’re gearing up for another big summer at Myrtle and as my first ever cookbook – Cooking with Anna – launches at the beginning of summer, it will mean I will have to leave the kitchen for a little while. This is a bit daunting but probably a bit exciting for my staff as well. I’m also filming a new cookery BBC TV series around Ireland where we’ll meet different producers and celebrities.
As I’ve already said, I do like a challenge so I’m also launching a wine bar below Myrtle called The Little Sister this year. It will serve delicious wine alongside simple, yet tasty, Irish themed snacks.
Tell us about the Myrtle Academy and Irish hospitality?
It all comes from the Brehon laws, which play a key part of Irish history and culture. They’re one of the oldest and first documented laws written down in Europe. Look it up – they are fascinating. There were loads of different laws, which had to be obeyed, but they had real fairness to them. Many were around bees as it was the only form of sugar in Ireland at the time. The laws stated that if you were a beekeeper, you owed tax or honey to your neighbouring farms as without them, the bees would have no food to eat.
Our Academy aims to train people in the Irish way of doing things in the kitchen and on the floor.
It’s more than just encouraging the chefs to have the best knife skills, it’s about improving communication and self-motivation. A chef or front of house professional who continually looks to improve is someone that will have limitless satisfaction and success.
What’s your favourite meal?
Don’t tell my mum because in all honesty, I love everything she cooks like her poached egg on Ryvita or her roast chicken, but my favourite dish is Vitello Tonnato. I remember when I worked in Paris, I saw the chefs poach the veal and then make the sauce. I watched them make it and tasted it. From that day on it became my favourite dish in the universe. I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and all that’s in between.
What recipe would you like to share with us and why?
Eliza’s pasta. She’s my niece and very grown up now. She has always been into food and was my little kindred spirit. She asked me about stuffed pasta one day so I created this dish especially for her and it stuck as a favourite. I honestly make it at least twice a month. It’s a tomato-based sauce with pasta shells stuffed with ricotta. It’s really simple but so yummy and also good cold in summer. Some people have an issue with cold pasta but not me. I’m a big fan of us not all liking the same things.
