Meet the Three Hungry Boys: Trevor

Trevor, the tall one from Three Hungry Boys, talks adventure and taking on the role of chef in series one

Write a short profile of yourself

By default I am the responsible and conscientious third of our trio, and I say default not because I am in any way boring or a stickler for rules, but because those other two are idiots. If someone suggests something idiotic then there is a good chance one of them will step up to the plate and take one for the team. I, however, know that there is no honour in eating the bits even crabs would leave behind or throwing myself off things that are high to impress girls. My sense of self-preservation is simply too well developed to take part in that kind of foolishness. Having said that, life is too short so I will usually get involved but I'll have the good sense to let one of the others go first.

When I'm not gallivanting round Scotland with two of my best friends I'm studying product design and generally trying to get into the design world. I've just ordered my first pair of black-rimmed designers glasses and I'm saving up for a black roll neck jumper. Once I have those, the world is my oyster.

I'm originally from Holland but moved over when I was four and have spent time in London, Stroud, Plymouth, Salisbury and now Bournemouth so have seen a fair bit of the South West. I met Tim and Thom when we were studying Marine Biology in Plymouth. We met after a lecture during our first week and have been friends ever since.

My other interests include music, design, bikes, swimming, travel and of course, cooking. I would just like to add that although I have been christened as the chef, there are many that would contest this based on my actual cooking skills. However, if you compare my cooking prowess to Tim and Thom's it will quickly become obvious why I was elevated to the lofty status of chef. They both have talents in the kitchen but these are best kept to opening tins or possibly even sitting in the corner not interfering with any food whatsoever.

Why did you write to Hugh?

It was Tim who wrote to Hugh and I think he originally sent an email to the info address at River Cottage. It was primarily to see if there was any interest in our planned trip to France and Spain.

What did the letter say?

I think it was something along the lines of 'we're off to France to search for fish, food and fun, do you want to come along or fancy watching the results when we get back?' I also think there was a fair amount of guilt thrown in by Tim as he said that he had pretty much every DVD and cook book ever produced by Hugh. I think he hoped that this would at least get the letter read.

What did you think might happen?

The first I heard of the email was when Tim already had a reply so it was pretty out of the blue. At that point it sounded as if there could be something but we weren't sure what. Obviously we got over excited and a bit carried away and almost started planning our own media empire complete with fan club and printed t shirts but as time went on it seemed to be getting more and more likely that we were going to go on an adventure.

When did you first realise that you were going to Scotland? How did you feel about it?

I think the actual confirmation only came about a week or so before we left so until then it was like being on a knife edge. Everything was organised and ready to go, so if it hadn't gone through it would have been a massive anti-climax. However, when it was confirmed I got a call after work on a Friday evening and then as it was all going ahead. I really had to consider packing all of my stuff and getting it all from Holland to England which was an epic adventure in itself.

What did you do in preparation for the trip?

We did a day with John the forager down in Dorset covering seaweeds and mushrooms. but apart from that most of the preparations were from books and trying things ourselves.

We spent a good week getting all our bits of gear out of Tim's cellar which also surreptitiously turned into cleaning his house, so I reckon it would only have taken about half a day to get our things done. Tim's cellar was like Aladdin's cave; it was ridiculous the amount of stuff that was down there.

What were the highlights of your month's holiday?

Fingal's Cave and lobster on the beach of Tiree stand out, but the real highlight (if you can call it that) was spending a month with two of my best friends in a van without a clue what we were doing. We got so used to each other, and sleeping in the van, that we seriously considered dragging our beds into the same room the first time we slept in a hotel.

What was the worst point? What did you not enjoy?

The constant flow of water from the heavens during the last two weeks, combined with the midges had to be the worst elements of the trip. In fact, it was either one or the other: if it wasn't raining, then there were midges trying to fly into every orifice although sometimes, on special days, there was a light drizzle AND midges. Oh and the smells that came out of Thom's bum combined with the general smell of boys, fish, mushrooms and damp in the van.

What did you miss the most?

This changed throughout the trip. During the first week it was probably everything in the world, then as we hardened into the grizzled outdoor folk we were when we finished, I didn't miss much at all. Running water and sweet things would have been high on my list. And now that I'm not there anymore I miss the rain and midges... oh no hang on, that's not true at all.

What was your favourite meal?

Lobster and beer on Tiree, or the shoulder of mutton on Kingariloch.

What was your favourite adventure?

Fingal's cave: absolutely stunning scenery and it was awesome to see basking sharks so close up, or possibly diving for scallops - that was great fun as well.

If you could do it all again what would you do differently?

Make a binding legal agreement that states Thom Hunt is not allowed to sully the air in the van at any time. And I might invest in a midge head net thing.

How did you cope with being cooped up in Winnie together for a whole month? Who got on your wick?

I think we all got on really well, there were no major arguments in the whole month and we got all our tasks and roles done. It was like we were one happy family.

Tim has this habit of using something and never putting it back so an average inspection of one of his pockets would turn up the following: lighter, leartherman, torch, keys, fork, and usually a couple of things that you've just spent 10 minutes looking for. Toward the end we just started asking Tim to check his pockets before looking for anything.

What did you learn from your trip?

How little you actually need to survive. When you look at what food and equipment we actually used it was hardly anything. I also felt much better and healthier after we'd been eating basic foods for a week. We all had severe sugar withdrawal symptoms about a week into the trip.

What was it like settling back into reality?

It was obviously great to get back into a soft bed and clean, dry, warm clothes but to be honest, as soon as that had all happened, I instantly started to miss the freedom of the camper van and the company of my friends. There was definitely talk of our next trip as soon as we got back, although I think we all agree we should pick the time of year a bit better next time round.