52-year-old Brazilian Alberto Leao has been an employee in the fruit and vegetable market for almost 30 years. More recently, he has found his inner chef and a desire to make more of the fresh produce that has either fallen out of its box or would otherwise be wasted. He wants more people to understand that fruit and vegetables can taste just as great even when they may appear a little past their best.

How long have you been on the market?

I’ve been working on the market since 1996. I started working at Linkclass then went to work for Premier Fruits. All my life I worked for Premier Fruits - maybe 15 or 16 years. I am now working for Side Salads. Mr Tanner [at Premier Fruits] is my inspiration. You see where he comes from and where he is now. That’s my motivation.

How did you learn to cook?

I remember [the younger] me - when I first came into England. I had never cooked in my life. Outside the Market I am a different person. When my brain comes in here, I completely switch on. When I see anything on the Market floor, I want to cook and show the people what you can do with it – to show them that what you see is not what you get. You can see beautiful things and you don’t know where they come from. For example, you see tomatoes on the floor, you can take them home, wash them and you make a nice salad. And the people don’t know. That’s why I am so fascinated with that. There is so much stuff [that some people might put in the rubbish] that you can use for something else.

Where do you get your inspiration?

It’s in my brain. My girlfriend asks me how I do things like that and I say I don’t know. It comes into my brain. I don’t know. When I see things I start to cook and that’s what I do.

Can you give me some examples of your experimental dishes?

The thing that most surprised me when I cooked was the cabbage. Particularly the red cabbage. When you change the colour of the food you’re cooking, the blue. I was so fascinated with that. I love colours. I come from Brazil and it’s exotic. I love to see colours on the plate. Even when I do omelettes and put the cabbage inside and it changes colour - I am so fascinated with that.

You have just come back from Brazil.

The markets there are amazing. We are so privileged here. We have forklifts. We have electric pumpers. Where I come from, we have nothing like that. We do it all by trolleys. All the pawpaws are loaded [onto the trucks] by hand. And the fruit and veg is amazing. So fresh. It is just unbelievable. There are so many types and varieties you cannot get here.

Why is it important to not waste food?

If I could, I would cook food and donate it to people. There is so much that gets wasted that can be used. For example the beetroot I take home and it’s only the leaves [that are bad]. There is nothing wrong with it. It just hasn’t been sold.

What is your favourite produce that is in season now?

Purple sprouting broccoli - it’s amazing. I love English produce. You cannot beat English fruit and veg when it is in season The asparagus grown here is the best in the world. You can’t go wrong with English produce.