Every week we ask top chefs to join our event. Cheap Foods feature. Today we speak to Chris Cleghorn from Michelin-starred The Olive Tree in Bath. She picks her favorite budget-friendly meals from Somerset and Wiltshire.

Hi Chris, how about cheap food to cook at home when you spend the night?

Depending on the time of year, I don’t think you can go wrong with a great salad.

My favorite quick scramble is cornflake-wrapped chicken, goat cheese, pears, hazelnuts, roasted broccoli, value lettuce, mustard, and honey dressing.

Method

1. Cut the chicken breast into long thin strips, about 2 cm thick.

2. Lightly coat in flour and dust off excess.

3. Dip into egg mixture and then directly into cracked cornflakes.

4. Place it on a flat tray lined with baking paper and bake in a preheated oven at 220C until golden brown.

For the honey and mustard sauce, this can be made in bulk and stored in the refrigerator for a week. Here’s how I do this…

• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 200ml olive oil
• A pinch of sea salt

What are your favorite places to eat for two for under £40 around Bath?

Choux Box Patisserie In Bath – We love walking to Entry Hill Cafe for coffee and choux buns on Sunday morning. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but if I had to pick one it would have to be this classic lemon meringue pie.

But don’t miss the weekly special choux buns, which are often extravagant.

At Entry Hill you can also enjoy delicious choux buns; My personal favorite is potatoes, bacon and maple.

Alternatively, we head to Alexandra Park on Sunday morning and enjoy their produce. Here you see magnificent views of Bath.

Hartley Farm StoreBradford-on-Avon – Just a 15 minute drive from Bath and with two teenage boys this is a big hit and has everything in one place.

They lovingly created the Barn where you can enjoy all-you-can-eat food.

My favorite for breakfast is French toast brioche, apple compote, bacon and maple syrup. I recommend paying the extra £2 and adding the fried egg and jalapeño.

For lunch, they use their own beef to make the Herd to Beat Burger: Hartley beef patty, tomato, lettuce, burger sauce, brioche bun, fries and house salad.

Next to it there is a farm shop selling local produce, a playground for children and an old family tractor.

Landrace KilnBath – Landrace Bakery for me represents what artisans produce.

Their incredible talent stands out: breads and cakes freshly made using the finest ingredients. It’s worth a quick stop for takeaway pastries. My personal favorite is the cinnamon buns. But get there early to make sure they still have them – they’re that good.

You can also enjoy a light brunch of small plates without breaking the bank. Additionally, adding a large plate to the selection works best for dinner, but this will set you back more than £40.

But it’s definitely worth the fun as you can watch your meal being prepared by the small team of chefs. The cheddar cheese fritters are worth the stop!

How did you start conducting?

I’ve always wanted to be a chef since I was little. I loved food and was always interested in watching cooking shows and learning more about food.

I was never successful in school, but I loved art and cooking. After gaining work experience in a kitchen, it became clear to me that this was what I wanted to do.

In college, I took my daily liberties by going to a local two-badge restaurant.

When I was 18, I did a stagiaire (internship) at a three-Michelin star restaurant. It was an eye-opening experience, but I loved every minute of it.

I have never seen such attention to detail, the thought process of the food and the quality of the products. I didn’t have the confidence to work there at the time, but it set me on a path.

Over the next 10 years I continued to learn from great chefs, learning my craft and learning about the business before becoming a head chef myself.

We talked to many top chefs; Check out cheap eats from around the country here…