'I love the word fusion, but, in the last few years, some restaurants have served bad fusion food, which has given the term a bad reputation. Ever since I worked as head chef at the Sugar Club, I've never been able to think of any other way to describe my food. Last year, when I opened my new restaurant, Public, in New York, everyone said; 'You can't use fusion, it's got terrible connotations. It'll ruin the restaurant!' I disagreed. The reviews all said things like 'this modern fusion', 'this eclectic fusion', so I think we're beginning to use it as a really positive adjective.

I tend to think of food as a series of ingredients rather than something historical. So, unlike some of my contemporaries who might be more into creating the perfect modern version of a classic dish, my ideas are all ingredient-led. I just think of things out of the air and try and bring them together. Perhaps I'll have an idea I want use some ginger and particular spice and texture with a fish, then I'd work out how best to bring that about.

When I was writing this book I would sometimes arrive at the studio with the ingredients and I'd have no idea what I was going to do with them. I've found that inventing the recipes on the job is quite fun and often gets better results. The bunny chops [pot-roasted rabbit chops with spring onions and olives, above] started out as a pot roast of the whole rabbit that was going to be braised. Then I suddenly thought of just using the chops. I'd never had a bunny chop before.

While a handful of these recipes are served at my restaurant, Providores, most of them are completely original. They are not modern British and they are not Pacific Rim. I can only say that they are ... fusion.'

· Providores, 109 Marylebone High Street, London W1 020 7935 6175