The Times Magazine 9What I’ve learnt Tom Kerridge
Chef Tom Kerridge, 47, grew up near
Gloucester. As a teenager, he worked
as a television extra in Miss Marple.
In 2005, he opened The Hand and
Flowers, the first pub to be awarded
two Michelin stars. Aged 40, he
dieted, gave up alcohol, lost 12st
and has since written several
bestselling cookbooks. He lives in
Buckinghamshire with his wife and
their four-year-old son in the same
town as his two pubs, Marlow.
My mum and dad split up when
I was 11, so I didn’t grow up with
a strong father figure. I didn’t
feel deprived. It’s only now, being
a father myself, that I recognise
all the things I missed out on.
I threw myself into sport. It’s
incredibly important for kids
growing up, but not for the
obvious reasons. Yes, it’s about
health and fitness, but the social
interactions, the discipline and
the way you learn about your
strengths and weaknesses are
great tools for later in life.
Working in a kitchen isn’t like being
in the SAS. It’s not life or death,
but it is gently brutal. It wasn’t
the food, but the people, the
excitement and the adrenaline
that drew me to it.
There are lots of naturally
gifted chefs, but for most of us,
success is down to hard graft.
It’s like building a wall. You need
a solid foundation and to do
the groundwork.
There’s nothing better than a
great day at work. The more you
put yourself under pressure, the
greater the sense of achievement,
like winning a cup final when you
were 2-0 down.
Confidence helps you achieve
things, but it’s fear of failure that
drives you. It’s not wanting to let
yourself or everyone else down.
You can’t stick to your comfort
zone. You have to stretch yourself
to achieve things in life. Sure
it’s uncomfortable – that’s the
whole point.
My wife Beth’s first words to
me were: “Give me £3 for the
stripper.” My flatmate was a
colleague of hers, a technician for
the sculptor Sir Anthony Caro,
and we’d gone along to help
celebrate his birthday. I fell in love
INTERVIEW Tony Turnbull PORTRAIT Neale Hayneswith her because she knows who
she is. She has a huge personality
and is fantastic to be around.
Whether doing your GCSEs, taking
your driving test or making a
cheesecake, everything has an
element of risk to it. Man, I could
write a whole risk assessment
about what can go wrong when
you make a cheesecake.
I’m 100 per cent honest. I never
like pretending about anything.
My mate Chris Evans has been
backwards and forwards in the
press and he told me he learnt
early on that you can disarmeveryone with honesty. If you tell
the truth you’ve got nothing to
hide. Not that I’ve ever had
anything to hide; it’s more about
having a moral compass.
I have an excessive personality.
For me, it’s all about volume,
whether that’s food or alcohol or
work. It’s seven years since I gave
up drinking and lost more than
10st, and my relationship with
food now is very controlled. Well,
it can still be very uncontrolled,
but I’ll always get a grip of it
the next day.
My son, Acey, is nearly five. Younever know about the emotional
pulls of having a child until you
are a parent. We all have to deal
with the same guilt, not being
there or dropping them off at
school when they’re in tears.
It doesn’t matter how many
Michelin stars you have, it’s
difficult to get your child to eat
broccoli. Acey will eat whole
whitebait and squid tentacles, but
when it comes to vegetables, we’re
still on a learning curve. n
Tom Kerridge’s Tiny Tasting Menu
for children is available from Uber Eats
from November 17‘It doesn’t matter
how many Michelin
stars you have, it’s
difficult to get your
child to eat broccoli’