Chris Galvin: The Michelin-starred chef on how he fell in love with French fine dining Driving through Lyon with my mum and dad in 1965, when I was eight. We'd stop at the many Les Routiers [road-side restaurants] along the way, and what struck me was that they were light-years ahead of our own awful motorway restaurants. I remember eating blanquette de veau, a white-wine veal stew; lots of creaminess, and it felt really grown-up and exotic. Le Gavroche; those Roux brothers have done so much for British gastronomy and I still remember a meal I had there 14 years ago, when I got my first Michelin star. For the main course I had a carved saddle of lamb, but rather then just put it on a plate, they brought it out on a beautiful wooden trolley, garnished with artichokes, fondant potatoes and confit tomatoes, then they carved the lamb in front of you. Cuisine Gourmande by the French chef Michel Guérard. I grew up in Romford and when Terence Conran opened a Habitat there when I was 16, I'd go and visit. It's where I saw that book, which his wife had translated into English. I still love the duck-liver-and-raisin parfait; it has an ethereal taste, with the slight meatiness paired with the fruitiness of raisin and cognac. A nice piece of Angus beef on the bone. There might just be some driftwood around to grill it on. All you'd need is a bit of butter and some sea salt. The weirdest thing I've ever eaten Surströmming - soured herring from northern Sweden. The fish are fermented and putrefied so when I punctured the tin, I was gagging from the sulphurous smell. It tastes like a ripe Munster cheese. Sneaking a bit of bread from the bread basket and keeping it for my main meal, so I can scrape up the juices left on, say, a plate of roast chicken. It's something my granddad used to do, though I'm not sure if it's acceptable table manners these days. Chris Galvin, 54, is a Michelin-starred chef and co-owner of seven family-run restaurants. The Galvin Restaurants Festival of Food & Drink will be held in each of the restaurants from 13 to 19 May. For more: galvinrestaurants.com