after hearing his death on the 10th september 23 thought i would see this again he was one of the greats along with the roux brother, pierre koffman and raymond blanc. may he rest in peace

This man is an inspiration. Just like Heston the fact that he is self taught is such a ray of hope for some people, myself included.

I absolutely agree. My hope is that some of them started rather late in life just like me - after almost 2 decades of self-teaching I just finished my basic formal training this July and I am 35. Way to go :)

7:34 I love to see a proper chef use tinned tomatoes. It is virtually impossible to find decent fresh tomatoes in the UK, and pointless to use them when tinned have more flavour. Nico is one of the greats. He was also one of the first superstars for cooking in London when the UK finally started to come out of its stupor of the 1970s and 80s. Famous, of course, for pinning a note to his door stating, "We do not serve prawn cocktail, well-done steak, or Black Forest Gateaux" (all cliches of the 1970s). I'm fairly sure he had a temper. I once saw him working in his office at Simply Nico back in the 1980s and probably stared at the great man for a fraction of a second too long and he glared back at me. Happy days!

Pierre Koffman was not slow...He is famous for being one of the fastest and most efficient chefs of all time.

My favourite chef. I love his 2nd cook book. If it was released now It would still be modern and of the time.

RIP Nico.

Nico Ladenis: "Anarchic and unemployable" Pierre Koffman: "Pierre will never do anything in catering" I'm a teacher so I'll be sure to never predict my students' futures!!!

He wanted to do it with an all English Brigade as well

Is this the Nico Ladenis who told Egon Ronay to visit Harveys thereby saving it from going bust?

Brilliant stuff old school chefs ❤

This was also David Cavalier restaurant for a while in late 80s early 90s

I was the guy who asked nico to char my steak :D

@71chunky Wow. That's so awesome. Having watched the "Marco cooks for..." series and the two episodes of "Marco" I really have a great admiration and respect for what Marco Pierre White was doing at that point. He seemed at the absolute peak of his game, but still only in his late twenties. What did you have? I take it the food was exceptional? (dumb question really)

What a man!

Good one Brian x

It is amazing how slow these chefs are compared to the next generation.

3:37 Real Boss 💪

@71chunky Did you eat at Harveys in the late 80s then?

In today's world, how many times would Nico have been sued for sexual harassment?

He retired. There was a rumour recently that he was opening a bistro in London again

Does anyone know where to find this full series?

I’m trying so hard to find the original Kay Avila series she did on Marco Pierre White in the late 80s. Does anyone know a way to find these? I’d love to buy them on dvd

raw meat isnt about pallete .Its about an idea that the meat isnt good if it's not well cook.Some people think blood is full of bacteria.Wich is true but not bad ones that can make you sick.

@SethHesio Yes I ate at Harveys. I still have an original copy of the menu

For those interested, I have a copy of Nico's book, "My Gastronomy". If you would like a copy of the recipe(s), send me message. There are recipes for (what is shown in these videos of "Take 6 cooks"): 1 - Coq au Vin Jaune ("Poulet au Vin Jaune"); page 37 2 - The Mediterranean fish soup ("Soup de Poisson"); page 62 3 - The cooked Vinaigrette ("Vinaigrette de Legume"); page 239 4 - Mushroom Consomme with Madeira ("Consomme de Champignons au Madere") - page 59

what year is this from btw?

Yeah I get him 100% when he's talking about those annoying customers! Burn a good steak yeah maybe you need to do it to please odd customer but it will piss the chef off big time lol!

Can u unlock the rest

3.26 i understand what he's saying and that its probably a great shame for him to see a piece of food 'completely ruined' in his eyes, but you have to accept that everyone's pallete is different. too salty for one may be under salted for another.

how was it?

@p3rs0nan0ngrata OMG Marco and Nico got 3 michelin stars the same day..... that's a little harsh of the guide. Almost to take away some of their thunder.

What has happened to Nico Ladenis now?

@gordon16663 my old man has one of his books. got it for £20, but its upwards of £100 now. collectors item

I bet you don't cook Wali Binzali or Kuku Banika

@hsphouse I ate at La Tante Claire. I didn't think it was that great. Harvey's Chez Nico where better

Is Nico the chef that throws people out of his restaurants for asking for table salt?

Franco Taruschio was a finer chef and more talented than any of them.

He always talks about himself.

Sad that these chefs are driven by the Michelin star ideology, something that is irrelevant to culinary, I mean their food was good to begin with and they have successful restaurants, so they are given a star by a tire company and all of a sudden these chefs drop to their knees as if their talent/experience/inspiration/skill came from the tire company

These people don’t have to chase silly Michelin stars, they’re already masters of their craft.