Chef Ben Churchill Is The Food Illusionist, Ben posts 
videos on social media and is getting over 40,000 views per clip. Below is only just a taste of what Ben can do!
Q: Describe your Job?
B: Creating next level desserts and pushing the boundaries of perception and what can be done with food for my facebook page www.facebook.com/thefoodillusionist
Q: What advice do you have for young chefs?
B: My advice for young chefs, always question and never think you can’t do something. I taught myself everything I know, and I believe this has given me the freedom to create whatever I want. No deep set rules, no “you can’t make this that way”. I usually think of my end result first, then work out how I’m going to get there. Basically, don’t let yourself get boxed in with rules.
Q: What made you want to be a chef?
B: I fell into cheffing by accident. I’d just dropped out of Art College with no direction and a friend of mine suggested I take on his job in my local pub kitchen (he was going travelling). It was a quiet, simple omelettes, pub classics type of place. The place then got a refurb and a new head chef and we were suddenly cooking proper food and lots of it! It gave me a desire to learn and cook. I still remember the first thing I taught myself to cook at home; risotto. It was awful at first, but I kept on trying. Since then I’ve been moving from place to place, teaching myself and absorbing. With regards to my desserts, I started teaching myself 18 months ago as the pastry was something I’d never explored. One day I had an idea to make a lemon that looks real but is made out of chocolate and filled with lemon sauce. It was a very crude affair but gave me the thirst to keep exploring food illusions and seeing how far I could go.
Q: What’s the most important part of your job?
B: Inspiring.
Q: Most enjoyable?
B: Everything is enjoyable. From the development of building up an idea, to the trial and error, to seeing the finished dish, and seeing people’s reactions.
Q: Hardest?
B: The hardest part is when you just can’t make an idea work and have to abandon it. I’ve had a couple of those and it really leaves you deflated.
Q: What is your favourite ingredient?
B: My favourite ingredient changes weekly. Recently it was a lemon balm. I’m a big fan of using herbs in desserts, especially rosemary, thyme, unexpected flavours.
Q: Favourite dish?
B: My all time favourite has got to be the iron throne. It was one of my early ideas and has taken a year to refine. A chocolate sponge sprayed with lustre and filled with strawberry coulis styled like the iron throne from Game of Thrones.
Q: Where does inspiration come from?
B: Inspiration can come from anywhere…nature, TV, computer games, my imagination.
Q: Plans for the future?
B: For the future, I’ve written my first book; part recipe book, part coffee table book, part inspiration. I’m just now exploring publishing avenues, looking for a publisher to pick it up
