CHEF PROFILE: TODD ENGLISH.

Byline: - Natalie Haughton

Age: 38.

Profession: Chef/restaurateur.

Hometown: Amarillo, Texas.

Food background: English grew up watching his mom, of Italian descent and a great cook, and his grandmother prepare lots of Italian dishes, including ravioli. When he was 9 years old, he asked for a hand-crank ice cream machine - and started making ice cream for the family. He also grilled a lot and did other cooking to help out in the absence of his father.

During high school, he worked at both Mexican and French restaurants in Branford, Conn. Then he spent a year working as a line cook at a hotel in Atlanta and one summer worked at a seafood restaurant on Martha's Vineyard.

He debated about going to the ``school of hard knocks'' or getting formal culinary training. The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., won out, and he graduated in 1982.

After several years' experience out of school, he had his fill of doing the ``Frenchy thing'' and wanted to get back to the Italian-style cooking of his roots. He landed a job as the executive chef at a new restaurant, Michela's, in Cambridge, Mass. Before he took over, he traveled to Northern Italy and worked in six different restaurants in six months. His wife, Olivia, who he met at CIA (she was also a student there) handled the front of the house at Michela's.

The couple stayed there three years and then left to open their own 45-seat restaurant - Olives in Charlestown, Mass. - in April 1989 - serving English's interpretive Mediterranean cuisine. The restaurant has since moved to a larger space and has consistently been named Boston's favorite restaurant by the Zagat survey.

Today English has eight restaurants, including two that recently opened in Las Vegas - Olives in the Bellagio hotel and Onda in the Mirage - and one in Westport, Conn., Miramar in the Inn at National Hall.

Cooking style: Mediterranean-inspired cuisine with a strong influence from ethnic or everyday food that is rooted in the traditional cooking of the people.

Kitchen secret: He believes in chemistry on the plate - and it is best when it is layered and becomes a melange of flavors that explodes in your mouth.

Most popular dish he makes: Herb and butter-basted spit-roasted chicken.

Three favorite foods: Spaghetti with butter and Parmesan cheese; a big, thick grilled sirloin steak; chocolate chip cookies.

Favorite junk food: Fritos.

Food he hates: Dill.

Secret food passion: Sushi.

Favorite kitchen gadget: Offset spatula (a narrow one).

Pet peeve: He can't stand dirty spoons on the line (used to sauce and plate food) and dirty spoon water in the kitchen.

Favorite cookbook: ``Culture and Cuisine, A Journey Through the History of Food'' by John Francoise Revel (a French book translated into English; published by Doubleday in 1982).

Ideal vacation: A place with a beach, plenty of golf, tennis and activities - and of course great food and wine at dinner.

Favorite restaurant: Marc Veyrat in Annecy, France.

What does he do when not cooking?: Plays a lot of sports.

If he couldn't be a chef, what would he be?: A baseball player, or work in the creative end of advertising.

Dream job: ``I've got it.''

Worst kitchen disaster: While preparing a special private dinner for foreign dignitaries at a townhouse in Boston several years ago, the fire-extinguishing system went off, and all the finished sauces and food got dusted with white powder. Everything had to be thrown out, and English had to run out and get other ingredients and food. It took him about an hour to recover and remake the dinner.

If he could dine with anyone (current or in history), who would it be?: Thomas Jefferson, Auguste Escoffier and Courteney Cox.

Most memorable meal: Poulet bresse with 40 cloves of garlic at Tante Paulette, a small restaurant in Lyon, France.

The worst part of being a chef is: He doesn't have much time to see his three children, ages 9, 6 and 3.

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PHOTO Todd English

Terri Thuente/Daily News