Working as chef to the stars

Graham Reagan, who spent years on the road cooking for some of the world's top stars, is running the ten-week course at Malton School.

It was another world, far from Malton, when Mr Reagan toured with the bands. He saw how Elton John liked his dressing room, he discovered Eric Clapton's simple tastes and saw Diana Ross frying up chicken in the kitchen.

Graham is now a producer with Radio York. After years as a roadie chef (if it's Tuesday it must be Rome), he hung up his apron and settled for York.

"Now I cook for pleasure," he said. "I enjoy what I eat and I've put on weight. I used to be skinny. Never trust a skinny chef," he joked.

Early in his cookery career, Graham signed on with a catering agency. A call one Friday told him to be at the big green pyramid in Paris the following Wednesday.

"I was a bit scared and then I found out it was for Elton John," said Graham. "I was new, I'd never even been backstage before."

It was during Elton John's flower stage that Graham was preparing choice Chinese, Indian and Indonesian food to tempt Elton after his concerts.

"At each stop, his dressing room was covered in white silk, with white carpets, white leather sofas and, of course, white lilies. He would have a full bar set up, even though he might just have a tonic water."

It wasn't just the cooking that occupied Graham. He had to do the shopping, too, and balance the books. Shopping could take hours in places without big supermarkets, like Sicily.

And even the most luscious market vegetables and fish would not necessarily tempt people like Eric Clapton, who it transpires is a strict meat and two veg man.

"He likes his meat pies and pudding with custard," said Graham. "So I had to make sure we had enough custard powder for the trip."

Then on Sundays what everyone wants is a roast. "Not just that, whoever it is, you are always competing with their mother when it comes to a roast."

Thanksgiving is a tradition from which Americans will not waver.

"Diana Ross is pretty good at fried chicken," said Graham. "At Thanksgiving she was there with everyone else in the kitchen with an apron. She was a pretty good cook and liked to cook collard greens, corn bread too.

"Out of all the show biz pomp, Thanksgiving is a great leveller if you are American.

"As for Sting, what a lovely man. He's a vegetarian, going on for vegan, so cooking for him is interesting. He likes tofu and risottos."

A darker character caught Graham's interest. "Van Morrison was moody. He had several phases which went from not drinking, to one or two bottles of champagne to brandy. When he got to brandy the shows went on longer."

Graham also cooked on Michael Jackson's team and Madonna's.

"I saw Michael Jackson and I was struck by the colour of his skin. In certain lights it looked lavender. And as for Madonna, what a star. She would arrive with outriders front and back leaning out of cars with guns."

For all its seeming glamour, Graham doesn't miss the world of chef to the stars. "Really, when you look at it, it was check into hotels, sleep, have a cup of tea and start again."

But he does miss the people, so every year he does a couple of UK festivals for two or three days to keep his hand in and catch up with old friends among the crews.

"The standard of food nowadays is fabulous. People are more demanding now. We as a nation expect more," he said.

What he learnt in his cooking career is improvisation and compromise. Fast and fabulous is how he describes the food he will be teaching on his course.

"The notion is that it's Friday and you're in at six and people are coming for dinner."

Asked for a recipe to whet the appetite, he rattled off a 20-minute top bangers and mash formula:

2lb of the best sausages ("Try Derek Fox," he said);

One mash made from sweet potatoes with butter, cream and nutmeg;

One mash made from standard potatoes with butter, salt and pepper;

Red onion gravy made with red onions, wine, reduced then beef stock added;

Pile the two mashes side by side;

Four sausages each;

Loads of parsley;

Fabulous.

Add roast red onion and tomatoes if you want.

The ten-week course starts on September 18 at Malton School in the evenings. It costs £40.

Updated: 09:48 Wednesday, September 04, 2002