The Seven Sins of Tom Kerridge |
Chef, Restaurateur and Author |
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Tom Kerridge, the award winning and celebrated chef brings a taste of culinary magic to his restaurants, cookbooks and across tv screens up and down the country. Tom champions British food and has become a leading name in the hospitality industry. From humble beginnings, Tom and his wife Beth built The Hand & Flowers into what it is today, the world’s first and only two Michelin-starred pub.
Tom has since launched several more restaurants, penned 10 best-selling cookbooks, launched the hugely successful music and food festival Pub in the Park and more recently campaigns to help end child hunger in the UK with Full Time meals.
In 2017, Tom launched Pub in the Park Festival in Marlow, a music and food festival celebrating local quality pub food. In 2023 the festival rolled out to ten locations all over the country. |
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Tom first came to our TV screens with the popular BBC2 seriesR39;Proper Pub FoodR39;which became an overnight success (peaking at 2.4 million viewers in 2013) with his fan base growing weekly as the six-part series was broadcast. Since then, Tom has appeared on and presented numerous series (listed below).
Tom’s BBC 2 series ‘Saving Britain’s Pubs’ saw him set out on a mission to revive struggling pubs, investigating industry challenges along with the immensely negative impact of Covid-19. Tom was most recently a judge on BBC2’s Great British Menu, which in the year of the BBC’s centenary, celebrated British creativity through 100 years of television broadcasting.
Tom is a successful author having published 11 highly acclaimed cookbooks, many of which have tied in TV programmes. Tom’s latest book is Pub Kitchen published in September 2023 by Bloomsbury Absolute. A feast of recipes that bring pub food into the home kitchen. Tom has gone back to his heartland with over 100 recipes that celebrate modern British cooking. |
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| Wrath - What makes you angry about the hospitality industry?
I love the hospitality industry itself, what has made me incredibly angry is the effects of Covid and Brexit in combination and now with the cost-of-living crisis on top the situation for many businesses is dire. I want the Government to do more to help the industry and support these businesses – many of which are huge community support systems for people.
Greed - If all your food fantasies came true what would be on your Plate?
This is so hard. I am a big cheese lover, so I would probably have the world’s biggest cheese board, full of weird and wonderful cheese from around the world made by really local artisanal producers. On the side I’d have some quince, pickles and big fat juicy grapes.
Sloth - What do you do to unwind?
I am a big gym go-er, and more recently I’ve got into deadlifting where you lift weights from ground level to thigh level using your leg and hip muscles which is great for strengthening my back. I go two to three times a week and sometimes I’ll go on the Watt bike or swim as well. I find it really therapeutic and it really helps me switch off and unwind.
Pride - What are you most proud of?
The Hand & Flowers. My wife Beth and I re-built the pub from a tired and unloved boozer to one of the best gastropubs in the world, winning two Michelin stars in 2012, still the only pub to hold this accolade. I am also so proud that many of my chefs and front of house team have been with me for over ten years or more, they are like family and the business wouldn’t operate as it does without them.
Lust - Is there anything that you are still lusting to achieve?
I think you have to keep pushing, every day I like to see some sort of progress being made, maintaining two Michelin stars year in and year out is a massive achievement in itself. I am always looking to make the business better and grow it if the timing and opportunities are right, we have a second Butcher’s Tap & Grill launching in Chelsea this November so it’s achievements like that.
Envy - who are you most envious of?
I’m not very envious as I look at my life and feel very fortunate. So, I think I would have to look at someone outside my work life – someone like Lewis Hamilton, I’d like to be able to drive like him!
Gluttony - have you ever over indulged?
I think most chefs have a touch of gluttony about them, certainly getting pleasure from food and drink. I was a very big drinker in my 30’s and quit when I hit 40, that’s been quite life changing for me.
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| We put the spotlight on the industry's most recognisable faces in our new interview segment "Seven Sins". If you want to know what inspires the industry's movers and shakers or what your favourite food loving celebrity likes to indulge in then you'll find it in their Seven Sins. |
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