Chef's profile: Bruce D'Aloia, the new head chef at the Angel Inn at Hetton, reveals his kitchen secrets

Can you remember the first dish you ever cooked and was it a success? Well, the first ever dish I cooked when I started training was mulligatawny soup. It should have been straightforward, but it wasn’t. As part of the course, we served lunch for the local old people’s homes. The soup did not go well. It was over spiced and let’s just say lots of water was also served that day!

Who is your inspiration in the kitchen? My inspiration comes from the produce – I have always loved ripe fruit and veg and now as a chef in Yorkshire I’m inspired by the beautiful game birds in season, wild foraged mushrooms and wild garlic. There is so much beautiful produce here that I could wax lyrical forever.

What was the first recipe book you ever owned? Beard on Bread by James Beard. It was first published in 1973 and if anyone wants to make bread, this is the one and only book they need. It’s written by one of the finest American chefs and one of the best teachers.

If, on a rare night off, you decided to organise a dinner party, which three people would you invite? The fashion designer Donna Karan – I worked for her for years and she is an absolute blast at dinner parties. Mary Bowen, pilates elder – I cooked for her at my home last year and she is probably the most interesting person I have met. And of course Kirsten Ferrie-D’Aloia, my wife. Because she is my best friend.

When it comes to food, do you have any guilty pleasures? To my wife’s disgust, Betty Crocker Cream Cheese Frosting straight out of the tub with a spoon! I make no apologies. It is delicious.

Chefs are notoriously bad at eating well, so take us through a typical day’s food for you? I am a grazer and constantly nibbling on everything. If it’s a good day I will sometimes have a bowl of staff lunch shovelled in my mouth whilst crouched in a corner.

If you were stranded on a desert island, what’s the one ingredient you couldn’t do without? Lemons, lemons, lemons.