Tom Kerridge

Behind his likeable TV persona and West Country twang, chef Tom Kerridge has had a bumpy ride to the top. He talks to Mark Sansom about idolising Marco Pierre White, ditching the booze and unbridled ambition

Hands like dinner plates, skinhead, tattoos, vintage Adidas sweatshirt and a watch the size of a small bungalow on his wrist – indeed, Tom Kerridge is a chef in the very modern mould. As comfortable on a football terrace as behind a two-Michelin-starred pass, he’s a man full of dichotomies.

When Food and Travel meets its Chef of the Year 2015, he’s fresh off the red-eye from New York where he’s taken eight of his team. Any sign of tiredness? Of course not.

‘I used to do 12-hour shifts, go out all night and head straight into work when I started in London,’ he says in the bouncy West Country brogue we’re all familiar with. Nowadays transatlantic flights, fact-finding missions, interviews and TV shows are his bread and butter; all-night partying has taken a back seat.

‘New York is a seriously good place to explore for a chef. It’s like London, just bigger. Rather than hand my staff a two-grand bonus, I like to give them experiences that will help them grow and enjoy at the same time.’ He took his team to his favourite spots: Momofuku, a mid-range noodle bar; Jungsik, a Korean fine diner; and Daniel, Kerridge’s pal Boulud’s two-star on the Upper East Side. ‘Aaron [Mulliss], my head chef at The Hand and Flowers, was blown away by lamb baked in clay with ras el hanout spices at Daniel. I could see his face light up as he ate it. It’s dining experiences like these that money can’t buy that makes a chef the man he is.’

Though it wasn’t food that got Kerridge into cooking, rather the camaraderie of the kitchen. ‘I loved the thought that out the front of the five-star hotel or whatever, everything looks amazing, but the guys creating these majestic plates are a bunch of pirates, shouting and smoking fags behind the bins.’ When he started his chef’s education in the early Nineties, the guys behind the pass (or the bins) were just starting to creep into the limelight. Rock and roll chefs were making headlines and Kerridge credits the original kitchen front man as the one who made him further his dream.

‘Marco Pierre White did it for me. When I read White Heat aged 18, it blew my mind. There was this guy. This really cool, good-looking guy, making food sexy and fun, having a ball while he did it.’ He had Kerridge hooked at the first few pages, but his fanboy status came full circle earlier this year, when Pierre White released the 25th anniversary edition of his epoch-defining book. ‘It was up there with the proudest moments of my life when Marco asked me to contribute. I was genuinely nervous when putting it together, but so pleased to be asked. He phoned me up to say thanks and we ended up on the phone for ages. I explained that it was reading the book the first time round that made me take the leap from Gloucester to London.’

Kerridge’s first job in London was at The Capital Hotel in 1994. From there, he moved to work for Stephen Bull at St Martins Lane hotel and to Rhodes in The Square in 1996, years that he credits as some of the best of his life. To say he was embracing Pierre White’s rock star legacy would be a major understatement.

‘Big cities can break people, but I was lucky enough to live in Crouch End with some mates from Gloucester. We couldn’t afford much to start with. In fact, I was literally a sharing a sofa with a pal who worked at the Atlantic Bar. I would have it between 2am and 5.30am, then I’d go to work and he’d sleep on it all day.’ At least it was always warm.

Kerridge may have embraced the lifestyle of a nocturnal chef with aplomb, but his partying was only just exceeded by the reputation he was garnering in the kitchen.

‘When you are chef de partie, there’s less responsibility. As long as your stuff is prepped and your section tidy, you could get away with it. I used to love finishing work, going out all night and ending with breakfast at Balans on Old Compton Street. It’s only when you have to start taking responsibility – like in any walk of life – that you calm the fun down.’

And he’s definitely calmed down. It won’t have escaped viewers of his TV shows that Kerridge has shed some weight of late. The best part of 75kg in 18 months, no less. What does he attribute it to? Binning the booze and early morning swimming.

‘It got to the point that I was the biggest drinker in an industry full of drinkers, and nearly 190kg. First to, and last from, the bar at any event. I’d proved everything I needed to and something needed to give. I haven’t touched a drop since.’

Now, it’s the splash of a swimming pool that gets him up in the morning and not the spray from last night’s bottle. ‘I do at least a kilometre before work in as quick a time possible. I started eating sensible food at sensible times of the day and the weight fell off. It’s not rocket science.’

Has it given him new drive or clarity? ‘Not really. The same whirlwind character you’d find at the bar was the one going to all the meetings, setting up chats with breweries and suppliers to get The Hand and Flowers to where it is today. I don’t regret a thing.’

And his two-Michelin-star flagship pub in Marlow is in a good place. Its 45 covers are booked up months in advance and securing a table in this relatively remote part of Buckinghamshire is as tough as anywhere in San Sebastián. Even with some main courses tickling the £40 mark, its success shows no signs of abating. I ask whether it would be possible for a pub to achieve three-star status? It’s the only time in the interview he seems short on words.

‘Look, I know we don’t do the diverse tasting menus that three-star places do, or apply the flavour principles you’ll find in Japan, but I really don’t see why not.’

As he says this, he almost seems to be convincing himself. His sentences become hurried and staccato. ‘Take The Waterside Inn [in Bray]. It has just celebrated 30 years of three-star food. In essence they take the very best ingredients and serve them to perfection. It’s what we’re doing here. Great food. Simply served, in a top environment. So yes, I think we could.’ With a career like his, you’d be hard pressed to disagree.

His BBC shows are going from strength to strength, with more planned for the new year. His latest book, Tom’s Table, went straight to the top of the Amazon charts and he’s presenting at Taste of London’s winter festival on Tobacco Dock, from 19-22 November. So is there any danger of a new restaurant?

‘God no, not for now. It took us ten years to open The Coach [his latest Marlow venture]. I get offers all the time, but unlike some chefs, I won’t put my name to anything unless it’s absolutely right.’ In a world full of undercooked chef collaborations, it’s reassuring to know that at least someone, somewhere is doing it right.