Meet the CH-WAGS*

Olive magazine(*chefs' wives and girlfriends)

Forget fake tans and hair extensions, the wives and girlfriends of Britain's top chefs are very different to their football counterparts

Words: caroline stacey
Photographs: Matt Munro

Reproduced from the October 07 issue of olive magazine. This month's issue on sale now. Subscribe now and save 30 per cent.

Olga Garcia

Olga GarciaFrom the moment they wake up in the morning, until last thing at night, Olga Garcia and boyfriend, the precociously talented Anthony Flinn of Anthony's in Leeds, live, breathe and, occasionally, eat, food together.

Anthony's dazzling moleculargastronomy approach to cooking (he spent time training under El Bulli's Ferran Adria) and Olga and her talented front-of-house team have proved a winning combination. But it's no picnic for the partners. 'We argue a lot at work,' admits Olga. 'But at home, no.' Not that they're at home much. They return from work at 1am, watch TV for an hour, go to bed then hit the restaurant again at 8am. 'If I didn't work in the restaurant, I wouldn't see my boyfriend,' says Olga. The couple haven't known it any other way. They met eight years ago at a hotel in Gloucestershire, when she was fresh from hotel school in Spain and he was a rookie chef.

Of their two days off a week, one is spent sleeping. Food shopping consists of little more than cereals, milk and bread bought from the corner shop, and their kitchen sees about as much action as an Antarctic ice-cream parlour. 'We cook when there's something in the fridge,' says Olga. 'We make a lot of toast.'

Olga is from Barcelona and she says she'd never be allowed back if she didn't keep her Spanish omelette pan oiled. But that's as far as her repertoire goes. 'I don't have the patience for it; I make a mess and Tony has to finish it off.' On their rare nights off, it's most likely to be steak or something from the local noodle bar.

So is it stressful working together? 'Chefs always shout when they know you more,' says Olga. 'I don't take it personally - you need to remember you're in service.'

Favourite place to eat: Fujihero, 36 Sundridge Road, Bradford (01274 728811)
Cooks for the chef: Spanish omelette

Amber Nuttall

Amber NuttallAmber met her husband Tom Aikens on a blind date - they spent time at Borough Market before cooking dinner together. 'I was his commis chef for the day,' recalls Amber, whose sashay up the aisle this summer featured in Hello! magazine.

Some girls might quake at the idea of taming the notoriously hot-headed chef. Not Amber. The well-connected 29-year-old trained at The Connaught under Michel Bourdin - Angela Hartnett's classically Gallic predecessor - and souffles are her speciality.

Amber now works for Robert Earl, the restaurateur and owner of London club Fifty, and says she appreciates having a career that's separate but complementary to Tom's. 'I miss cooking, but I think one chef in the family is enough. It's easier for me to fit in with his world.'

Amber says it's hard to tear Tom away from his work. On Saturday afternoons, he'll type up recipes with one eye on the football: 'The man never stops.' But food is a shared obsession. 'He's married the world's greediest person and greatest lover of food,' she says, adding that they're avid collectors of cookbooks. 'I made him buy me Heston Blumenthal's book for Christmas,' she says. 'He said, "What do you want that for?" and then spent more time reading it than I did.'

When they're putting their feet up, they might get a takeaway from Deliverance. Better still, they'll eat out. 'It's one of our joys when I can steal him away from the kitchen for long enough,' she says.

Favourite place to eat: China Tang, The Dorchester, Park Lane, London W1 (020 7629 9988; www.chinatanglondon.co.uk) for dumplings.
Cooks for the chef: 'He recently gave my scrambled eggs 9 1/2 out of 10.'

Michaela Kitchin

Michaela KitchinMichaela and Tom Kitchin's marriage got off to a good start. Arriving back from their delayed honeymoon in January this year, the couple were met with the news that their restaurant, The Kitchin in Leith, had won a Michelin star, with Tom the youngest Scottish chef ever to receive one.

Michaela came from Stockholm 10 years ago and met Tom when he was moonlighting for the catering company where she worked while a student. Their friendship simmered away on the back burner until, she says, 'We eventually realised we wanted to be together.' They now work together closely at the awardwinning restaurant, he's in the kitchen and she's front of house. 'We've done silly hours throughout our careers,' she says. 'But never like this.' She spends most of her days in the office then meets and greets at lunch and dinner. 'There's no mercy during service, whether you're a wife or not. It's tough.'

On Sundays and Mondays, when the restaurant is closed, the couple's R&R tends to revolve around food, though Tom is supposed to keep schtum on the subject. 'I have to kick him sometimes on Sunday and say, "Let's not talk about food." But because it's so near to our hearts, it's easy to slip into it,' she admits.

Shop talk may be banned on Sunday but cooking isn't. 'We never do takeaways - ever,' Michaela insists. Tom roasts organic chicken with lots of vegetables or lunch and sometimes lays on a full-works dinner with aperitifs and dessert wine in the evening for friends. 'I'm lucky,' admits the kitchen-shy Michaela. 'I'm not very good. My excuse is that I never get a chance.'

Favourite place to eat: The King's Wark, 36 The Shore, Leith, Edinburgh (0131 554 9260). 'A local pub with good food.'
Cooks for the chef: Sunday breakfast. 'I'm very good at scrambled eggs.'

Clare Lattin

Clare LattinCrayfish in the sink is a common occurrence in the Lattin-Hix household. But since moving in with Mark Hix, Clare Lattin says she's become inured to sharing kitchen space with living - as well as dead - ingredients. Earlier this year, Mark's stargazy pie - featuring crayfish and rabbit - was the star turn on BBC Two's Great British Menu. His most recent book British Regional Food has won a handful of awards and under his leadership Scott's restaurant re-opened at the end of last year to great acclaim.

What Claire, who is head of press at Quadrille, hasn't got used to is keeping up with the late nights. Mark's keen interest in the art world means more partying - on top of all the chef-based socialising. 'He's just got more stamina - that's a chef thing,' she says.

The couple are more likely to eat out locally - often Vietnamese - than hit London's hot spots. If they're at home, they'll rustle something up with what's left over from recipe testing. 'He gives me instructions; I can't think what to do with random leftovers,' says Clare. 'I used to like cooking Asian-inspired food, but now I'm with a die-hard British cookery nut, there's not a lot of lemongrass around.' But Mark hasn't convinced her to share all his tastes. 'I don't have the same desire for offal that he does,' she says.

Left to her own devices, Clare's standby supper is pasta with tomatoes and anchovies, but living with a chef has had some effect on her cookery skills. 'I have become a better cook,' she says. 'I'm more aware of how to present food on a plate.'

She also knows to give the kitchen a wide berth when Mark's been working on recipes at home. 'It starts off spick-an-span and organised, but he doesn't give a damn how he leaves the kitchen.'

Favourite place to eat: Arbutus, 63-64 Frith Street, London W1 (020 7734 4545; www.arbutusrestaurant.co.uk)
Cooks for the chef: 'Prawn and chilli linguine is always a safe bet.'

Plaxy Locatelli

Plaxy LocatelliIf the raven-haired Plaxy Locatelli looks a little forbidding, it's because sometimes she has to be. At the end of the evening at her and husband Giorgio's restaurant Locanda Locatelli, it's not unusual for some of the customers to try to get frisky with the Italian kitchen god. But Plaxy is more than a match for the most enthusiastic of her husband's fans.

Plaxy and Giorgio first met in a Soho pub 20 years ago. 'I thought he was really cute but he didn't speak any English', she says. 'And his dress sense left something to be desired.' A few years later, Giorgio returned from Paris with his wardrobe and command of English improved, and things took a positive turn.

The couple intended to work together but when their daughter Margherita was diagnosed with lifethreatening food allergies more than 10 years ago, Plaxy took a back seat to oversee her care. She used the time to plan the couple's dream restaurant, which opened in 2002.

Now she's in the restaurant most days and for a couple of evenings a week, but gets up at 6.30am to do the school run in the morning and afternoon. 'We make time, and see each other at work,' she says.

At home, Plaxy's the one who cooks. 'It's easier. When people come to dinner, he makes a big song and dance and uses every pan - it drives me mad. If he doesn't like something I've made, he pushes it round the plate and eats lots of bread!'

Favourite place to eat: Scott's, 20 Mount Street, London W1 (020 7495 7309; www.scotts-restaurant.com)
Cooks for the chef: Curry