Born in 1952 in Cospicua, the fourth of five boys, Anton B. Dougall was appointed executive chef at a leading hotel and in 1971 published his first book Tisjir Professjonali. In 1980 Anton started his own business and in 1984 he started a catering contract company specialising in outside catering. After the inauguration of Zammit Clapp Hospital, Anton introduced, for the first time in Malta, an American food logistic system marketed in Europe from the Netherlands. In 1974 he founded the Klabb tat-Tisjir, which was a hit from the start. To date he has published more than 30 cookery books, a very successful cookery cards set of 600, three volumes of il-Menu, three volumes of il-Gourmet, the best sellers Ikel ghad-dijabetici and Taste of Malta. The latter was published in two languages. However, Anton is most renowned for his weekly 45-minute cookery programme. He was a ‘bestseller’ with over 80,000 copies of four books combined with his TV show called Tisjir bil-Ghaqal. Anton is still in full charge of his weekly food talk show on RTK every Friday morning. This has been running for more than 13 years. He was responsible for various presidential banquets, advising the caterers at Buckingham Palace to prepare a Maltese dish, which was on the menu for a banquet attended by Queen Elizabeth II and hosted by the Commonwealth High Commissioners. Next year he will give four Maltese cookery lessons on BBC. At present, Anton is busy running a hotel together with his son Rudi, as well as a bistro with his other son Nigel. He is also working on three books; a revised edition of Taste of Malta in four languages, a new book called Famous People’s Favourite Recipes and the first of a set of three textbooks called Insajjru.After an absence of five years, Anton will take up his teaching hat again and will be starting four new cookery courses in mid-October. The first is a course of six lessons, an introduction to food. There will also be a five-lesson course in English about Maltese food, a five-lesson course on how to organise a party and a five-lesson course in Christmas food preparation. Next January more courses will be organised featuring other chefs. Those interested can apply by either phoning on 2138 2394/5 or by email on: [email protected]. The venue for the courses is the Gorgianis Hotel next to Intercontinental Hotel, Paceville. At the moment Anton is toying with the idea of opening a cookery school for professionals with visiting lecturers from the UK and Italy.
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How old are you? Star sign and date of birth?
56 years, Pisces born on 8 March 1952.
What would you like to be doing in 10 years’ time?
Baby-sitting my grandsons and occasionally talking about food.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Finding the perfect partner, who I have.
What is your favourite occupation?
I love being a caterer.
Significant other?
My wife Mariella.
What is your greatest fear?
I’m afraid of heights, but my biggest fear is that of getting lost. My closest encounter with fear was in Bonn where I forgot the name and address of the hotel where I was staying. After wandering around for three hours at night, I found a receipt in a pocket.
What is it that you most value in your friends?
Honesty.
How would you like to die?
Suddenly… no pain.
What is your greatest extravagance?
A relaxing holiday in Sicily, away from
everything including shopping.
What is your greatest regret?
I trust too much.
What is your most treasured possession?
My library.
Which talent would you most like to have apart from the ones you already have?
I would have liked being a writer or historian. I love history, both Maltese and European.
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
When someone has nothing to eat. It is a shame and shouldn’t happen since there is so much food around.
Where would you like to live?
Malta or northern Italy
What is your most marked characteristic?
The way I talk about food.
Who are your heroes/heroines in real life?
My mother and my wife.
What is it that you most dislike?
Dirty kitchens.
What is your motto?
I am at the service of my clients.