Paul Ainsworth grew up in a guesthouse that his parents run in Southampton. He says: 'From a very early age I watched my parents welcoming customers into our home. It was extremely busy every morning from 6am when the breakfast shift began until very late at night.' His parents both cooked and through them he was exposed to two very different cuisines. His dad focused on hearty, traditional, British meals – 'the biggest portions you’d ever seen' – such as shepherd’s pie and corned beef hash. Whereas his mum, who was from the Seychelles, made Creole dishes that featured fish, vegetables and spices, cooked with a little more flair. He says: 'I was a very well fed child!'

Instilled with a strong sense of the value of hard work and earning your own money, he says: 'At the age of twelve I had four paper rounds, two shifts at a newsagent, five night shifts in a fruit and veg merchants, and a job selling pretty tacky household goods from a catalogue in which I made a percentage of everything I sold. I also put in some work at the guesthouse – sweeping the drive, cleaning the windows and washing cars … Looking back I loved the idea of completing a task and getting a result, and to this day I enjoy the business side as much as I do the cooking.'

After leaving school he studied catering and hospitality, working shifts as a waiter at The Star Hotel as he studied. When Gary Rhodes, who knew his tutor, came to the college seeking chefs he 'absolutely jumped at the chance', spending two years working under him at Rhodes in the Square. He speaks extremely highly of his time with Rhodes, telling Great British Food magazine: 'Gary was incredible. People don’t realise how good he is – they saw the spiky haired guy on TV, but in the kitchen he was like no one else. He was one of those rare chefs that don’t just tinker with existing dishes, but actually invent new ones.'

Three years at Gordon Ramsay’s Royal Hospital Road followed, before he moved on to his other legendary establishment, Pétrus, working under head chef Marcus Wareing. He tells the same interview: 'Gordon Ramsay taught me discipline and respect, and his kitchen was where I really learned skills and worked with the best produce available. And Marcus was an incredible craftsman; everything was perfectly polished and refined, from the way the chefs looked to the way the dishes were presented.'

In 2006 he followed Marcus Wareing to The Berkeley, but shortly after met Derek Mapp – the backer who would go on to help fund the restaurant Paul opened with two friends in Padstow, Cornwall – Number 6. He says Mapp 'played an influential role outside the kitchen as my business partner, friend and mentor'.

He bought out his friends in 2009, but this move came as the recession hit, forcing him to completely change how things were done in the restaurant. Gone were the canapés, tasting menus and oppressive table service – a process of stripping back that continues today, and one which he credits with securing his success. Changing the restaurant name to Paul Ainsworth at Number 6, after three years at the helm he was really settling into his own unique style of cooking. In typically understated fashion, he says of his food: 'The style of what I cook is playful, keeping it natural... from the vegetables to the fish, it’s all prepared in a simple way – but they’re great ingredients.'