Top chef Ryan Honey reveals the cheap place he loves - and the overrated chain he would avoid

Yahoo

05-06-2025

Every Thursday, our Money blog team interviews chefs from around the UK, hearing about their cheap food hacks and more. This week, we chat to Ryan Honey, head chef at The Duke in Henley-on-Thames.
The best chef in the UK is… Mark Birchall at Moor Hall, hands down.
The guy has just bagged three Michelin stars, and if that doesn't make him the best in the country right now, I don't know what does.
His food is next-level, the kind of stuff that makes chefs jealous.
If you're not dreaming of eating at Moor Hall, are you even serious about food?
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The worst type of behaviour in kitchens is… people who walk in thinking they're Gordon Ramsay before they've even mastered chopping an onion.
I once had a guy in an interview tell me he didn't believe in "kitchen hierarchy" and that he'd "rather collaborate than take orders".
Safe to say, he didn't make it past the trial shift.
A kitchen runs on discipline and respect - if you don't get that, you're in the wrong industry.
The one thing you never, ever want to see on a menu again is... snails.
I know, I know, the French will come for me, but I just don't get it.
They're chewy, they taste like whatever you drown them in, and honestly, I'd rather eat the garlic butter on its own.
Some things just don't need to be on a plate - snails are one of them.
A tip that non-chefs might not know to make them a better cook or make a certain ingredient better… salt your meat way earlier than you think you should.
Like, hours before.
Let it sit and soak in. Most home cooks season just before cooking, but if you give salt time to do its thing, the flavour goes deep, and you get a better crust.
Also, stop being scared of butter. It makes everything better.
The one thing you hate that some customers do is… ordering a steak well done and then complaining it's tough.
Mate, you just asked me to cremate a £40 piece of meat - what did you expect?
Also, people who rush the kitchen when they can see we're at full tilt.
You came for a good meal, not a drive-thru burger - relax, have a drink, and trust us to do our job.
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One cheap place I love to eat is... The Bird in Hand in Sandhurst.
It's one of those old-school, no-nonsense pubs where the food is actually good rather than just being "good for a pub".
I always get the satay chicken kebabs with chips and salad -simple, tasty, and always bang on.
One way we save money is... cutting waste by only ordering what we need daily, we make sure everything gets used, and negotiating hard with suppliers.
Could the government help? Of course - lower VAT for hospitality, better support for small businesses, and maybe a bit of regulation on wholesale food pricing wouldn't go amiss.
But until then, we just have to keep adapting.
My tip for preventing waste is… use everything.
Peel, stems, bones, offcuts - there's always a way to get more out of your ingredients.
We dehydrate veg peelings and turn them into powders for seasoning, use bones for stocks, and any decent trimmings go into pies or terrines.
Waste isn't just bad for the planet; it's literally throwing money in the bin.
My favourite restaurant chain is… Miller & Carter.
It's just solid, well-cooked steak.
If I'm sharing, it's the côte de boeuf every time.
But if we're talking about overrated chains?
Nando's.
Sorry, but it's just chicken with some decent seasoning - why are we all acting like it's some kind of life-changing experience?
One ingredient you should never skimp on is… a proper olive oil.
A cheap one is pointless - it's like drinking bad wine.
But I'll give rapeseed oil some credit; a good cold-pressed one can be great for cooking at high temps.
Still, for dressings, finishing, or dipping bread? Olive oil all the way. You get what you pay for.