Hello! Magazine UK – 12 August 2019

RECIPES FROM

MARCUS AT HOME

AND

NEW CLASSICS

, BOTH BY MARCUS WAREING

(HARPER COLLINS, £20 EACH). INTERVIEW: SARAH HAMILTON-WALKER. PHOTOS: JONATHAN GREGSON

A

t theageof 11 Marcus

Wareingwaspacking

potatoes,at 18hejoined

TheSavoyhotel,andat

25 earnthisfirstMichelin

starasheadchefat

L’OrangerinLondon.After 15 years

workingwithGordonRamsay– whomhe

creditswithteachinghimhowtocook– he

openedhisfirstrestaurant,theaward-

winningMarcusat TheBerkeley,in2008,

andin 2014 becamea judgeonBBC’s

MasterChef:TheProfessionals. Hiscareerhas

alsoseenhimactasanadvisertoBradley

CooperandSiennaMilleronthesetofthe

2015 filmBurnt. Marcustalksexclusively to

hello!aboutMasterChef,

signaturedishesand who

cooksat home...

Marcus,whydoyouthink

MasterChef:TheProfessionals

hasbeensucha successful

show,andhowdidyou

becomeinvolved?

“Ithinkthesuccessofthe

showis downtotheformat–

it allowstheviewertoseethe

progressionofthecooksas

theymovethroughthecompetition.It’sthe

sameforMonica[Galetti],Gregg[Wallace]

andme– wecanseehowtheydevelopfrom

nervousthoughprofessionalcooksinto

muchmoreconfidentcooks,withnewskills

andideastheyhavegainedfromtheirtime

withusandfromthekitchensthatthey

visit.It’sfabuloustobepartof.

“I havealwaysbeenseenasa veryserious

chef,focusedonmyrestaurantand

attentiontodetail.Whenthespacebecame

available I was approached to join the

INGREDIENTS

• 1 x 200g/7ozblockfeta
  cheese


• ½ loafryebread


• 4 tbspoliveoil


• 1 clovegarlic,halved


• 3-4tbsprunnyhoney


• 4 sprigsof freshthyme


• Sprigsof freshlavenderor
  ½ tspdriedlavender


• Seasaltandfreshly ground
  blackpepper

1 .Wrapthefetain2 pieces

ofkitchenpaperandleave

at roomtemperaturefor

1 hourtoabsorbtheexcess

moisture.

2 .Preheattheovento

200°C,400°F,Gas6.

3 .Cuttheryebreadinto

verythinslices.Placethem

ina singlelayeron2 baking

trays. Drizzle with the olive

oilandrubeachslicewith

thehalvedgarlicclove.

Bake theryeslicesinthe

preheatedovenfor

7-10 minutesuntillightly

goldenandcrisp.Remove

theryecrispsandadjustthe

oventoitsgrillsettingor

preheatthegrill.

4 .Removethefetafromthe

kitchenpaperandputit in

anovenproofdishjustlarge

enoughforit tofitsnugly.

Drizzlewithhoney,then

sprinklewiththethymeand

lavender.Seasonwellwith

seasaltandfreshlyground

blackpepper,thencook

underthepreheatedgrillfor

5-10 minutesuntilgolden.

5 .Removethefetafrom

underthegrillandserve

immediatelywith the

rye crisps.

judgingteam.I wasamazedandhonoured.

I watchedMasterChefyearsagowhenit was

presentedbyLoydGrossman.It wasa bigmove

formeasit forcedmetoaddresshowI worked

myownkitchen, as I had to take time out to film

theshow.”

What’stheethosbehindMarcusat The

Berkeley?Andif youhadtonameyour

signaturedish,whatwouldit be?

“Mytastingmenuwouldbea goodstartas it’sa

reflectionoftheentiremenu,showingbeautiful

seasonalproduceat itsbest.I’vealwaysbeen

knownfordetailandvisuallyappealingdishes.

“ThedishI amknownforis probablythe

egg custardtartI cookedfortheQueen’s80th

birthdayonBBC’sGreatBritish

Menu, thoughthatis a pudding

frommypastandnotnecessarily

somethingI wanttobe

rememberedfor.It’shardto

pinpointonedish,asI lovethem

all.Theywouldn’tbe on my

menuif I didn’t.”

Yourcareerhasseenyouwork

in anumberofhigh-profile

restaurants,presideoverthree

of yourown,writecookbooks,

appearonTV,winawardsandworkwith

GordonRamsay.Howwouldyousumit allup?

“AsI wasapproaching 50 recently,I lookedback

throughmylifeandit didstopmeinmytracks.

I havehadthemostamazingtime– thethings

I’vedone,andthepeopleI havemetand

cookedfor.MytimeworkingwithGordon

spanned 15 years,inwhichI metmywife,had

childrenandearntoneMichelinstar.It hasnow

beentenyearssinceGRandI partedcompany–

again,somuchhashappened.I wouldsum it up

with ‘unexpected’ and ‘hard work’.”

YouandyourwifeJanehavethreechildren.

Howimportantis it topassonskillsandfamily

recipestothenextgeneration?

“Reallyimportant,ontwofronts.Everyonehas

theabilitytocook.Ourchildrenmaynot

followusintotheworldofhospitalitybutthey

stillneedtoeat,soit’simportantthattheycan

cookgood-qualityfood.SomethingJaneand

I havetalkedabout,especiallyasoursonJakeis

nearly 18 andlikelytogotouniversity,is that

hewillhavetocookcheaplyforhimself.Jane

hasstarteda routineat theweekendswhere

thekidshelpwiththecookingandother

chores.Theyshouldallunderstandthebasics.

“WithfamilyrecipesI’mlessconcerned

aboutpassingparticularson.I thinkit willjust

happen.Whateverthekidslove,theywill

remember.Jakecooksa greatsteak,Jessieis

ourmasterbakerandArchieis knownasthe

breakfastchef– ortheguacamolechef.”

Whatonepieceofadvicewereyougiventhat

stillresonates?Andwhatonepieceofadvice

wouldyougivetoa newcomertoday?

“Myadviceis totaketheadvice.Theyknow

morethanyoudo.EverykitchenI everworked

inI tookawaysomeknowledge– goodand

bad.Also,humility– anamazing chef told me

this.I comebacktoit often.”

If youhadtocookonelastsupperforfamily

andfriends,whereandwhatwouldit be?

“Itwouldhavetobeat ourhouseinSussex

witha viewovertheWeald– stunningviewsof

rollinghills,treesandsheep.I woulduselocal

producetomakea deliciousroast.RoastKent

lamb,vegetablesandmintfromourkitchen

garden,followedbya tartetatinmadefromthe

applesinourorchardandservedwithhoney

icecream– thehoneywould be supplied by

our resident bees.”

Serves 4 Preparationtime 10 minutes,plus1 hourdraining

Cooking time12-20 minutes

HONEY-BAKEDFETA

WITHLAVENDER,

THYME & RYE CRISPS

‘ThethingsI have

done,thepeople

I havemetand

cookedfor- I have

hadthemost

amazing time’

FOOD

‘Everyonehas

theabilityto cook.

Myadviceis to

102 take advice’