Or at least it is if you are Hell’s Kitchen chef Jean Christophe Novelli. The Frenchman is opening a new restaurant in Puerto Banus, Spain this month and yesterday I did an interview with the man to talk about his new project for a magazine article.

As interviewees go, he was terrific value, delivering a succession of knock-out quotes in an accent that shows almost no trace of the fact that he has lived in the UK for a quarter of a century.

Chefs need to be confident in what they are putting on the plate and JC is no exception. ‘I don’t have competitors,’ he declared. ‘It has been like that for twenty-five years. The only competitor I have got is my own shadow.’

If Scotland’s football team displayed that kind of self belief then the World Cup would be on permanent display in Hampden’s trophy room.

As for the recession, Monsieur Novelli is in two minds about its effect on the restaurant trade. Of course, the fact that people have less money to spend eating out is bad news but on the other hand it will strip out the weaker restaurants. Or, as JC put it while sounding a little like Eric Cantona’s mystical speech about trawlers and sardines, ‘the recession is like a wave which will wash away the crap and the Mickey Mouse restaurants.’

All good stuff but, for my money, the highlight came when I asked him what qualities and skills were needed to make a great chef.

‘Respect the food,’ he replied. ‘It’s not just something you fling in your mouth. You have to use all five senses to enjoy it. It’s like making love; if you really want to enjoy it then it is best if you use all five senses.’

The Fast Show’s Swiss Tony would be proud.