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 Manoj Prasad, head of food development at Heartwood Collection.

My top tip for preventing waste… never buy pre-prepared cut vegetables – always use a whole vegetable. Instead of buying florets, buy a whole cauliflower – make a cauliflower steak (pan fried or roast), or use the trimmings or stalk to prepare a cauliflower puree or a crumble.

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The biggest mistake I see in kitchens is… an increasing amount of young chefs who want to progress at an alarming rate, without necessarily giving the time and patience to their craft. Salaries and promotions are more highly valued than learning, understanding and experience and I think more time needs to be spent learning from mentors. Hospitality is a wonderful industry, and you never really stop learning.

Every day you can be taught something new or try a new ingredient or combination and I think sometimes that can be lost. I also believe it is our duty as senior management to carefully guide young chefs and front of house teams through this process of development and create an environment that is nurturing and positive.

My chef hero is… well, I have two. Raymond Blanc: his vision and appetite to produce the best food possible is inspiring. And Clive Fretwell – I had the privilege of learning and working alongside Clive since 2002. He has been my mentor and a father figure who has taught me everything and I’ve been able to pass that on to my team. One thing I have learnt from him that has stayed with me is to never give up and compromise but to keep trying until you achieve what you set out to achieve.

My one piece of advice for an aspiring chef is… try to be consistent in whatever you do. Repetition is the key and you must remain humble.

The one thing I’d change about the industry is… the myth that putting in more hours makes you better. For so long the industry has worked to the old traditional ways of coming in early and leaving late at night. At Heartwood Collection we look to provide a better work-life balance for everyone. The team need to work good hours, be able to take time off for themselves and their families and be able to look after their own physical and mental wellbeing.

I’d love to see… people be more open to trying sustainable products and ingredients. We often see cod, salmon and haddock on the menu as they are familiar, but why can’t we see more sustainable fish, which are more plentiful and just as delicious such as trout, pollock, coley and cuttlefish? The same goes for the usual pork, beef and lamb cuts rather than the more unusual cuts like skirt and flank. It will change but, as with most things, it takes time.

One restaurant that’s worth blowing out for… I would love to go to Bouchon Bistro by Thomas Keller. I absolutely admire Thomas’s philosophy and cooking style, where food takes centre stage rather than lots of fancy tricks that make the food look like a magic show.

We try to cut down cost pressures… and pass on the benefits to our guests in various ways. These have also made us more sustainable too.

• Use of more electrical equipment vs gas – replace solid tops and gas salamanders with energy efficient induction hobs and induction salamanders. This has made the life of chefs so much better and significantly reduced the heat in our kitchens;
• Looking closely at carcass balance and use of complete meat or veg thereby minimising wastage, eg, the use of duck breast and duck leg across both brands of the business (Heartwood Inns and Brasserie Blanc) and using bones for sauces, reducing waste;
• Utilising underrated cuts of meats and transforming them into better dishes by long slow cooking, confit etc. A great example is the use of lamb shoulders vs lamb rack, using venison shoulder vs saddle;
• Complete use of vegetables where possible, eg, celeriac fondant and remoulade on our autumn menu. The entire celeriac is used for the dish,
• Farm trips with our teams – it is vital that this philosophy of no waste is passed down to our teams and it is important that they meet the farmers and understand the hard work and passion that goes on behind the scenes. This gives a sense of respect for the produce thereby encouraging the mentality of no waste.

My favourite cheap substitutes are…

• Lamb shoulder
• Pork collar
• Beef shin
• Darne of trout
• Good quality cold pressed rapeseed oil can be used to replace extra virgin oil

All these cuts are full of flavour and if cooked the correct way, give the same pleasure that a prime cut would do or even more. Not necessarily something that is expensive will be better tasting as well. It all depends on how respectfully you treat an ingredient.