Feeling hot, hot, hot, but that's the way I like it
It's been getting really hot in the kitchens here at La Bécasse recently.
ince the start of July, temperatures have been through the roof.
Kitchens are hot places all year round, but the hot summer has raised the temperature inside 'the engine room' a further few degrees. Kitchens are filled with ovens, stoves, grills, hot pass lights and of course busy chefs.
Air conditioning a kitchen is not an option. Kitchens have to be warm because we are creating hot food which needs to stay hot.
It would be no good working in a cold kitchen because when we put hot food on the plate, it would soon go cold. So, tempting as it sometimes is, we can't turn the kitchen into a big fridge.
We have an extraction system of course. But when it gets to summer, the extraction system simply pulls in the warm air from outside.Not that myself or any of the team mind these conditions. It's hot and sweaty and that's the way it is.
Summer is a beautiful time of the year. Particularly when I live and work in such a picturesque town and can make the most of where I am on my breaks and days off. Ludlow is buzzing at this time of year with an influx of visitors.
Even though it's not by the seaside, Ludlow is still very much a seasonal place with regards to tourism. Ludlow benefits from increased trade from people who don't want to holiday abroad.
Ludlow is a perfect place for day-trippers or for people wanting a short break in the UK. It's a quintessential English town. People can enjoy 'staycations' here. There is so much to see and do in our beautiful town and in the countryside that surrounds it. In the summer, it may be hot in the kitchen – but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Will Holland is one of the UK's most successful young chefs. He earned a Michelin star before the age of 30, was named as one of the 10 most influential chefs for the present decade and is the chef-patron of La Becasse, in Ludlow.
