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RIYADH: Robert Stirrup’s culinary journey began in his family home on the outskirts of London. In a bustling kitchen, he did basic work helping prepare meals on weekends, which sparked his lifelong passion for cooking.

Now, with over twenty years of experience under his belt, including working in five-star hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants, Stirrup is the Director of Culinary Arts at the Ritz-Carlton Riyadh.

Here, he discusses his favorite dish and his best tips for amateur cooks. He also shares his recipe for baked sea bass with etuvée with vegetables and herb salad.

When you were starting out, what was the most common mistake you made?

Probably one of the biggest was the constant attempt to add flavors. When you’re not sure about the different flavors and complexity of ingredients, you keep adding new things. Over time, you start to realize what will go with what. One of the most important things one of my chefs taught me when I was 19 or 20 was to smell and eat different herbs and understand what the flavors were and what they could be paired with.

What’s your best tip for amateur cooks?

Planning. If you don’t have a plan for how a dish will look or be presented, you miss out on making a list and realizing that a lot can be done in advance. If you do a lot of things in advance, you end up just making the final adjustments, like cooking meat, cooking fish, seasoning vegetables, or heating sauces. So don’t put all the pressure on yourself at the last minute, don’t panic, and don’t make a mess.

What one ingredient can instantly improve any dish?

Citrus. It can elevate so many different dishes and there are so many different ways it can be used. It’s not just about using lemon. You can use a variety of citrus-based herbs. You can use limes. You can use Yuzu. There are many different ways to liven up a dish or restore its freshness by adding citrus.

What is the most common mistake you see in other restaurants?

I always check how big the menu is. When I see a large menu, I always think that either the food cannot be fresh or the team cannot be experts in preparing so many dishes. For me, a smaller menu means the team is more focused and the ingredients will be fresher because they are rotated appropriately. I also prefer restaurants that serve a specific style of cuisine rather than trying to do everything for everyone. I also think that you can recognize a good restaurant in front of the entrance by how busy it is. If the restaurant is empty, I don’t go there.

Also, from a service standpoint, I always like to ask the team what they would eat. It is very important to have a well-trained team. And it’s so hard to find good people. But train your team so that when they talk to guests and explain the menu, they are really confident in it. Recently I went somewhere where they presented the dishes and didn’t explain them at all. They just said, “Enjoy” and left. And that changed the whole experience – instead of sharing a little bit of their knowledge and their joy of being there and what they serve.

What is your favorite cuisine?

I like the simplicity of Japanese food. When cooking Japanese food, you can’t hide behind anything because it’s so simple. It is the quality of the ingredients that makes the dish.

What dish do you choose if you need to cook something quickly at home?

I usually just open the fridge and see what’s in there. This always drives my wife crazy. I don’t like to make big purchases, I prefer to buy ingredients as I go and then just see what’s available. I don’t think you need to combine more than three or four ingredients to make a dish, especially at home.

But I think something easy that everyone likes is probably pasta. There are so many different dishes you can make.

What customer behavior annoys you the most?

I think that’s just rude. Everyone is busy, everyone is in a hurry, but who cooks for you, greets you or serves you? They are also people. Good manners and being polite to people don’t cost anything. I think you’ll have a much more enjoyable experience and they’ll have a much more enjoyable experience. Even if something isn’t going well and you want to talk to someone about it, you can still be polite (about it). Sometimes people suddenly become very aggressive and I think it’s very unfair to the team who are trying to cook for you or serve you the best they can.

What is your favorite dish and why?

I like cooking fish. It’s so versatile, whether it’s sea bass, cod, snapper… really anything. Find a great piece of fish and some fresh vegetables, put them together and add various spices. I always think that what makes a good cook is someone who can cook fish well, because it is very easy to overcook it and cook it wrong. And like I said, the fewer ingredients, the better.

What are you like as a chef?

I’m quite laid back. I’m used to having very large teams; I have nearly 150 people in my team. In last place I had almost 300 of them. So I am a team player, an organizer who understands people. I find it much more effective than shouting and screaming. Sometimes yes, you have to raise your voice to make everyone stop and listen, but very rarely.

RECIPE

Chef Robert’s baked sea bass with vegetable etuvée and herb salad

It serves two

For sea bass

INGREDIENTS: 2 sea bass fillets (180 g each); 7 g of cumin seeds; 5 g sumac; 10 g dried oregano; 10 g sesame seeds; salt and pepper to taste (approx. 5 g each)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Roast the cumin seeds in a dry pan until they begin to become aromatic. Place in a mortar and grind with sumac, oregano, sesame, salt and pepper to a fine powder. Set aside extra for future use.

2. Bake the sea bass fillets seasoned with the spice mixture until cooked and golden.

For the vegetable case:

INGREDIENTS: 1/2 large fennel bulb or 8 pieces of young fennel, cut into shavings or thin slices; 1 carrot or 4 young carrots, cut into strips or thin slices; 4 young artichokes (optional), chopped or thinly sliced; 2 banana shallots, thinly sliced; 2 cloves of garlic, crushed; 10 basil leaves; 4 sprigs of thyme; 100 ml of vegetable broth; juice of 2 lemons; 50 ml extra virgin olive oil; salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Fry the shallot in olive oil until translucent. Add crushed garlic and fry gently.

2. Add the carrots and artichokes (if using), then add the remaining olive oil, herbs and vegetable stock.

3. Cook slowly over medium heat, covered or covered with foil, for 10 minutes. Then add lemon juice and season to taste.

For the herb salad:

Combine seasonal lettuces with 2 g of fresh dill, 2 g of fresh basil and 2 g of fresh sorrel.

INSTALLATION:

Place the sea bass on the vegetable etuvée layer. Garnish with green vegetables of your choice, such as asparagus or green beans. Combine with a salad of fresh herbs.