What are you working on right now?

The new branch of Fifteen Cornwall (fifteencornwall.co.uk) opened last month so it's all hands on deck. In addition to 15 chefs, we've got 21 students starting basic training and because we're based at the Extreme Academy in Watergate Bay, their induction includes surfing and mountain boarding! I'm flat out in the kitchen and we aim to use 80% Cornish produce so I'm running round tracking down weird and wonderful stuff. The only instruction is that it has to have the Italian slant because of Jamie's roots so we're probably the only restaurant in the world serving Cornish/Italian dishes!

Where would you rather be?

St James in Barbados. I was the chef de cuisine at Sandy Lane out there.

What's so special about it?

Happy faces, rum, beautiful beaches - not unlike Cornwall really. In one year on Barbados, I made more friends than I did in a decade in London. I was never a big reggae fan, it didn't sound right over here, but the guys I worked with played it all the time. It felt so right, the perfect soundtrack to island life.

What would you do there?

Go diving. There's a Russian wreck off the island which is great to explore and later this year they'll be sinking an American warship which will become the biggest wreck in the northern hemisphere. I love night diving too. It's a great way to clear your head. I almost stop breathing I get so chilled out.

Where would you stay?

Lone Star (thelonestar.com), a converted 1940s gas station right on the beach. Michael Winner goes there for his Sunday brunch - a mean bloody mary and eggs benedict.

Who would you take with you?

My partner, Paula.

What's the one place you'd like to see before you die?

Dominica, so that I could dive with whale sharks.

Interview by Maia Adams