Bistro Allée Bleue chef Glenn Ferus has just returned from a stint at one of Germany's best restaurants. We chatted to him about his travels, his food and his love of teaching.

Where did your love of food start?

With my dad. He always cooked for us on Sundays; usually old-fashioned curries. I was assigned to crush garlic, chop ginger and peel potatoes.

Tell us a bit more about your earlier career.

I started out as a food service supervisor and then went on to work at the Grande Roche under the late Frank Zlomke. This was followed by a stint as a pastry chef and Garde Manger at the 2 Michelin star restaurant of the Brandenburger Hof Hotel in Belgium, before coming back and working under Buitenverwachting's Edgar Osojnik. Other highlights include working at De Oude Pastorie in Somerset West, Marco Pierre White's Quo Vadis in London and Finz Restaurant in Dubai.

You recently spent a stint at Germany's 2 Michelin star Schwarzer Adler restaurant. What have you taken away from this experience?

Working with chef Anibal Strubinger was a revelation. He's the kind of chef that knows what he wants. He handpicks Michelin star chefs to form part of his team, so there's a constant generation of new and exciting ideas. The experience definitely helped me to fine-tune my skills.  

Who are your biggest food heroes?

The late Frank Zlomke. I worked with him at Grande Roche for four years. You never heard Frank. He communicated everything he needed to with a pointed look. He taught me that if you knew how to do the basics well, you could do anything.

What else keeps you inspired in the kitchen?

I come from a family of teachers and actually studied teaching before the kitchen called. Teaching my kitchen team keeps me sharp and inspired.

You're known for using fresh, local produce in your dishes. Any ingredients that you're in love with at the moment?

Celeriac. I used it in purées, sauces and even experiment with using it in desserts. It's got a great caramelised flavour. The estate also has an abundance produce. There's always something, whether it's grapes, olives, pears, plums or persimmons.

Do you have a signature dish?

The menu changes too frequently for me to really have a signature dish, but at the moment my home-cured gravadlax is quite popular. I cure it with sugar, salt, lemon, grapefruit and dill and serve it with cucumber jelly, cucumber relish and a guacamole canoli. I created the dish to go with Allée Bleue's 2010 chenin blanc.

Lastly, how will you be celebrating this festive season?

Working! Both my wife Belinda and I will be at the restaurant. She's the pastry chef.

Anything special on the Christmas menu?

I'm going to be serving the gravadlax as the first course, which will be followed by a grilled aubergine casserole with plum tomato confit. For a palate cleanser, I'll be serving an apple, cinnamon and stroh rum sorbet, and mains will be beef fillet medallions with bone-marrow butter, glazed cherries and a pomme de terre surprise. Keeping things Christmassy, dessert will be a chestnut parfait with an espresso sabayon.