Working as a chef gives you so much adrenaline, it’s like a drug and I love the energy. I don’t need a lot of sleep; my wife always says I’m like a Duracell battery. If I sleep for a long time I actually feel worse, but I am also the master of the power nap. I can lie down, close my eyes, wake up three minutes later and feel like a new person. It stems from being a young chef in London and Paris; working in these great restaurants for such long hours. At certain times, all the chefs would lie like sardines on a stone floor in a cellar and have a quick nap – sometimes we even slept on park benches.

I’ve learned to deal with the stress of being a chef over a long time. It’s really hard finding a balance and learning to be truthful with yourself. It’s only over the past four years that I’ve probably successfully started juggling family life and work.

Cooking is my life: I think about it every single day, every morning – even on my days off – it’s always about food. I’m so lucky to have a job that has me waking in the morning and thinking: ‘I really want to go to work today.’

When I was younger I used to play a lot of sport, but I could also eat and drink whatever I wanted. I’d go out and drink tonnes and wouldn’t think about it. But then you hit 40 and, before you know it, you’re suddenly getting a bit of a belly. I had to take a calculated decision. The way I live now I’m working as hard as ever but now I think I’ve got my lifestyle under control.

Exercise is vital because the busier your head gets, the more you have to find relief, and that is the key to everything. I do boxing, running and gym work, but I also have four sons under 10, so if that doesn’t keep you fit then I don’t know what will.

• This article was amended on 1 April 2018 to remove a “don’t” that had strayed into the quotation “I really want to go to work today.”

Meat & Game by Tom Kitchin is published by Absolute at £26, or £22.10 at guardianbookshop.com