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Sky News
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News
'It's invading menus': Top chef on overrated trend he doesn't get - and world's best food city
Every Thursday, our Money blog team interviews chefs from around the UK, hearing about their cheap food hacks and more. This week, we chat to Mike Reid, renowned TV chef and "Aussie Beef Mate". Good food doesn't have to be expensive... tasty food is simply tasty food. Obviously, better ingredients and produce (which would usually mean higher costs) would lend to a better flavour. However, some of the best food I eat is street food, from local markets or vendors. When I was in Singapore last year, I tried one of the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurants in the world, with a pork noodle dish at about the equivalent of £5 for a one star dish. It proves that good food doesn't have to be expensive. Michelin-starred food isn't always the tastiest, but... it is definitely a marker of consistency and talent. We are blessed in the UK with a thriving food scene, with so many great chefs, and not all of them are cooking within Michelin restaurants. What I would say with Michelin restaurants is that it is a very good marker for a place to eat where you should be getting great service and great food. It is a guide to help you. I love dining out at Michelin restaurants and have cooked at this level too, but I'm just as happy dining across the great spectrum of restaurants that we are blessed to have. The best chefs I've worked with are... legends such as Michel Roux Jr and Gordon Ramsay. I also had the pleasure of making "Five Star Chef" with Michel for Netflix, and that was such an incredible experience of working with him again. His professionalism and talent stand out every day, and I learned so much from him about being on set and the energy and expertise he brings with him. I handle a TV chef cooking me a bad meal by... styling it out - I would never want to publicly embarrass anyone. Food is so subjective, even though it may not be to my taste, the next person who tries it might love it. So I would try my best not to pass comment. Or my other tactic is to focus on a redeeming element, so for example: "Oh wow, the flavour of that beef is beautiful, or the colour of that sauce is so vibrant." What annoys me the most about the industry is... how we have an expectation now of being able to eat most foods all year round - then we actually complain about how it doesn't taste as good. We need to get back to respecting our produce more and understanding the seasons. To enjoy strawberries in summer and not look for them in winter. To get back to eating tomatoes that have been grown and ripened on the vine in the sun, as opposed to in a greenhouse, grown and picked early. It will be so much better for the planet and better for us to enjoy things as nature intended. The biggest mistake I see chefs make is… overcomplicating their dishes. We have such a desire when we are younger and starting out to showcase our skills, to show on each plate what we can do, and this often leads to dishes being overly complicated and too much going on. Sometimes you see 10 elements on a plate when only five are needed to make it really outstanding. Restraint is the mark of confidence and a true belief in the food that they are cooking. I remember so clearly when the penny dropped for me and my food went to another level after this. My chefs were happier, too. The most overrated single food item is… Dubai chocolate. I do not understand why this has swept the world and taken over. It's invading menus in every area, breakfast is now littered with it, inspiring dishes, and dessert menus are overloaded with it too. I think it's overly rich and way too sweet. But that's just my humble opinion! What I think about food influencers is... that love them or hate them, they drive covers to your restaurants, so you need to embrace them. I have worked with and met many - most are lovely people and big foodies who feel fortunate to do what they do. The minority can be a little "needy", let's say, but I think when you have a genuine influencer that you know will drive business to your restaurant, you are happy to work with them. I think it's about being selective and choosing the right ones for your audience. My controversial food/restaurant opinion is… your meal should be paid for in advance. We are one of the few, if not the only, "entertainment" services where you pay after receiving your goods. Think if you go to the movies, theatre or a concert, you pay in advance. Paying after your meal gives some guests the impression that if it wasn't exactly as you wanted, you don't have to pay for anything. You don't get a refund if you don't like a movie? We have already paid for everything, the staff, the ingredients, the building and our costs have been laid out in advance, so I don't see why the experience is different to other industries. It shouldn't be a choice. Of course, if we don't meet your expectations, there needs to be a level of compensation, but at the moment, all the power lies with the guest. The best city in the world to eat is... San Sebastian. From the Michelin-starred restaurants to the incredible pinchos bars - the quality of food is incredible. My go-to cheap eat at home is... wagyu skirt sandwich 150g Wagyu Thick Skirt 1 Hens Egg ½ Tomato, Sliced Sprigs of fresh Watercress ½ Onion, Sliced & Sautéed ½ Tbsp Dijon Mustard 1 Tbsp Kewpie 3 Shallots 1 Tbsp Corn flour Oil for frying 2 Slices of White Sourdough For the gravy: 500ml Beef stock 2 Tsp Corn Flour Method Coat your shallots in the corn flour and then fry off in your oil at 160C; Grill the wagyu from room temperature, seasoning generously with salt on your BBQ for about eight minutes, making sure your coals are not too hot, you want a nice medium heat. Then rest for at least six minutes in a warm place; Start reducing your stock by half. Prepare your corn flour slurry by adding a touch of water to your corn flour and mix well; Over a low heat, fry your eggs till the white is cooked but ensuring you have a beautiful runny yolk; Once finished resting, take the roasting tray juices and add to your stock. Bring to the boil and then thicken with the cornflour slurry and season to taste; Assemble your sandwich, basting the bread with your mustard, then adding the chutney, the beef cut in half and all your other bits, finishing with the watercress and the chips on the side.
Telegraph
22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Ten chefs choose their favourite UK restaurant dishes
The UK has one of the world's most vibrant, creative culinary scenes. Every day, chefs are dreaming up tantalising dishes with inventive flavour combinations, boundary-pushing techniques and eye-catching presentations. It's impossible for any foodie to get bored. But despite spending much of their lives in kitchens, great chefs never get bored of exploring what's on offer either, using rare days off to eat out and see what their fellow professionals are plating up. Who better, then, to have their fingers on the pulse when it comes to the most exciting dishes found across the UK currently? Here, 10 of Britain's best-loved chefs, including Rick Stein, Michel Roux Jr and Adejoké Bakare, share the dishes which have got their tastebuds excited – from a crab soufflé to an 'absolutely epic' bowl of pasta… Rick Stein knows a thing or two about seafood, having spent his life building his Cornwall restaurant empire, including The Seafood Restaurant, which is celebrating its 50 th anniversary this year. The spot that's most impressed him recently, however, is Riley's Fish Shack in King Edward's Bay on England's north-east coast. 'With restaurant fit-outs often lavish, it was a delight to find oneself in two shipping containers on the beach lined with gnarly wood and bench seating with plank tables,' says Stein. The atmosphere might be laidback, but the food at Adam and Lucy Riley's shack is serious business: turbot, squid, langoustines, oysters and more, mostly cooked over a wood and charcoal grill. 'The dish I loved was a twice-baked soufflé of crab with thermidor sauce served in battered red Le Creuset gratin dishes – brown and warming and fragrant with delicious crab,' says Stein. The popular soufflé's made using brown and white crab meat, milk infused with clove, onion, garlic, bay, thyme and tarragon, with butter, flour, eggs and plenty of mustard and Cayenne pepper. Once cooked, they're covered with crab bisque and baked again until they're blistering and wobbly. King Edward's Bay, Tynemouth, Tyne and Wear, England, NE30 4BY Mashed potato doesn't sound like something to get gourmands' hearts racing, but there's mash and then there's the mash served up at Makars Gourmet Mash Bar on The Mound in Edinburgh, where toppings range from wild boar sausages to lion's mane mushrooms. 'Makars' slow-cooked lamb shank with black pudding mash is my pick,' says London-based chef Ellen Chew, founder of the Chew On This restaurant group, including Singapulah on London's Shaftesbury Avenue. 'It's very impressive that they've managed to transform something as basic as mash into something so delectable by pairing it with their deeply flavourful meat, like their fall-off-the-bone hill lamb.' The lamb shank is infused with a sauce made with local Leith Distillery's Tawny Port wine, rosemary and tomato sauce, while the mash contains Stornoway black pudding. 'This is comfort food at its finest,' says Chew. 9-12 Bank St, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH1 2LN Home to restaurants from the likes of Rick Stein, Paul Ainsworth and Nathan Outlaw, there's long been an abundance of reasons for foodies to visit Cornwall. Since 2024, there's been yet another one: Ardor, a Mediterranean-inspired restaurant from chef Dorian Janmaat, formerly of Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, in the heart of St Ives. 'One of the best things I've eaten this year is the wild mushroom fideuà pasta with truffle aioli at Ardor – it's absolutely epic,' says Chris Eden, executive head chef of Cornwall's Watergate Bay Hotel. 'This Catalan-inspired dish replaces paella rice with broken pasta strands to create a real depth of earthy flavours and interesting texture. The intensity of mushrooms creates a rich umami base, while the silky truffle aioli adds luxurious depth. It's hearty, indulgent comfort food elevated through technique rather than fussiness. Dorian spent much of his childhood in Spain, and his influences shine through strongly.' 45 Fore St, Saint Ives, Cornwall, England, TR26 1HE Sandwiches are not 'real food' and 'lunch is for wimps', according to Kemi Badenoch. These are not views shared by Nigerian-born British chef-owner Adejoké Bakare, who earned a Michelin star for her West African restaurant Chishuru. Bakare likes to get her hands on a Bifana – 'a classic Portuguese sandwich' – at Quality Wines in Farringdon, London, whenever they're on the menu. 'Quality Wines is one of my favourite places to eat,' says Bakare of the restaurant, which serves a Mediterranean-inspired menu, from roast turbot to pig fat cannolo. 'I love Nick Bramham's food – taking down-home dishes and executing them brilliantly. The Bifana is one example. Nick marinates pork loin in paprika and bay, then simmers it in white wine and molten pork fat. The loin and sauce are shoved into a crusty roll, made in-house. It's anointed with Portuguese mustard and piri piri oil. For me, it's the ultimate sandwich.' 88, Farringdon Road, Farringdon, London, England, EC1R 3EA The driving force behind renowned Lancashire restaurant Northcote and now the chef-owner of farm-to-table gastropub The Three Fishes in Clitheroe, Nigel Haworth is a veteran figure in northern England's culinary scene. He's been particularly dazzled by the modern British dishes created by Ruth Hansom, who worked at The Ritz and Core by Clare Smyth before opening Hansom Restaurant in the North Yorkshire market town of Bedale in 2024. 'Ruth's lobster bisque chawanmushi is a standout dish: technically impressive, culturally rich, and absolutely delicious,' says Haworth. 'She's reimagined the classic lobster bisque by transforming it into a chawanmushi, a delicate Japanese-style steamed egg custard. 'The base is made from bisque stock and eggs, creating a silky custard infused with the deep, roasted flavour of lobster. It's topped with lobster tail, pickled fennel, heritage tomatoes and carrots. The textures, colours, and flavours sing in harmony. This is seasonal British produce meeting global technique, a great example of the thoughtful, progressive cooking defining 2025's dining scene.' 'Neighbourhood Nourishment' is the order of business at Vittle Bakeshop, a small bakery and café on The Promenade of the seaside town of Portstewart, County Londonderry, though they may have to get used to travelling gastronomes from far and wide turning up. Opened in 2020, David Loughran and his partner Sarah specialise in naturally leavened bread and pastries, as well as 'Freaky Ferments,' winning awards for their Irish custard tart and wild garlic sausage roll. But it's their nduja and wild garlic pain suisse that's been drawing Stevie McCarry, chef-owner at LIR seafood restaurant in nearby Coleraine, for repeat visits. 'Days off in hospitality are sacred – ours always include a trip to Vittle Bakeshop, a small-but-mighty space for creativity and community,' says McCarry. 'Their most recent masterpiece, the nduja and wild garlic pain suisse, is the greatest thing I've put into my mouth in years. It's cross-laminated sourdough croissant pastry filled with The Curly Pigs nduja [spreadable salami] from County Fermanagh, and a duo of in-house ferments: one a by-product from making fermented chilli hot sauce and the other a lacto-fermented wild garlic paste. It's finished with hot honey and finely shaved Cáis na Tíre, an Irish sheep's milk cheese reminiscent of Pecorino. It's heaven.' 66, The Promenade, Portstewart, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, BT55 7AF Brother Thai began life 10 years ago as a Cardiff street food stall, chef and owner Andrew Chongsathien earning a reputation for his innovative approach to Thai street food. It's an approach he continued when he opened his restaurant in the heart of the Welsh capital. 'One of the most exciting things I've eaten recently is the sticky spicy beef roti at Brother Thai,' says Lewis Dwyer, head chef and owner at the creative Hiraeth restaurant, opposite Cardiff's Victoria Park. 'It's Thai-style stir-fried beef with a generous amount of lime leaf through it, sat on top of flaky paratha.' The dish is inspired by the paratha-like breads, known as roti, commonly sold from street food stands in southern Thailand's Muslim-populated areas, usually eaten with beef, lamb or fish curry. Brother Thai's dish also features a Thai-inspired ajat 'slaw'. 'It's a simple and unassuming plate of food, but I don't see the Kaffir lime leaf played up so vibrantly ever, and the addition of the buttery, pastry-like paratha is a brilliant combination. It's up there with the best food you can get in Cardiff.' 35, Whitchurch Rd, Cardiff, CF14 3JN One of the most influential figures on the British culinary scene, Michel Roux Jr, formerly the chef-owner of Le Gavroche, is the culinary director of Chez Roux at The Langham hotel in London's West End. Not the easiest man to impress, he was enamoured with an elegant salmon dish at Trinity, chef-owner Adam Byatt's Michelin-starred fine dining restaurant in Clapham Old Town, London. 'The dish I've most enjoyed recently is one served at Trinity,' says Roux Jr, singling out the warm semi-smoked salmon, which is poached in a beurre monté. 'The salmon's served on a classic beurre blanc but made with Chardonnay and white onion for depth of flavour. It's finished with trout roe, dill and dulce for lip-smacking deliciousness. The final touch of pickled cucumber brings the whole dish together – a joy to the senses. The presentation is striking in its simplicity – it's a statement brimming with confidence.' 4, The Polygon, London, England, SW4 0JG 'It's amazing to see how the curry has assimilated itself into British cuisine,' says Nina Matsunaga, chef-owner of the award-winning The Black Bull in the Yorkshire Dales market town of Sedbergh. 'Kevin Tickle at Heft is through-and-through a Cumbrian chef, yet the most exciting dish that I've eaten recently – monkfish, mussel and cauliflower curry – sits very comfortably on his menu.' Heft opened in 2022 in a 17th-century inn in the south of the Lake District National Park, a few minutes away from Lake Windermere. His monkfish curry was a particularly memorable experience for Matsunaga. 'The monkfish is blushed on the Konro (Japanese BBQ),' she says. 'He also uses poached mussels, cauliflower browned in butter and fermented cauliflower hearts with shoestring fries for an added playful crunch. His 'special blend' of curry sauce is not too spicy but has good depth. It's a different take on a curry, and an exciting, standout dish.' High Newton, Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, England, LA11 6JH Scottish chef Pamela Brunton trained at Noma in Copenhagen and Fäviken in Sweden before opening Inver in 2015, a cosy restaurant in the village of Strachur overlooking Loch Fyne in the Scottish Highlands. Her menus combine modern techniques with local wild and farmed ingredients – langoustines, lamb, berries and seashore greens. Unsurprisingly, it's high on the to-do list for in-the-know foodies. Rosie Healey, chef-owner of Mediterranean-influenced Gloriosa in Glasgow ( was bowled over. 'I had the most wonderful meal recently at Inver,' she says. 'The standout dish was so beautifully presented and a joy to eat: thinly sliced, raw, hand-dived scallops from the loch, white asparagus alongside, and a white scallop sauce flavoured with vanilla and miso poured all around, finished with a tiny amount of hazelnut oil. Everything was pale and harmonious.'
Scotsman
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
I stayed at Crossbasket Castle and enjoyed new entertainment-led dining
Crossbasket Castle's new hotel sits within the grand estate of the historic castle near Glasgow, bringing the addition of 40 upscale bedrooms alongside Trocadero's, a new Art Deco dining room and cocktail bar. They've done a remarkable job of adding something innovative to the hospitality offering while expanding the scale of their luxury experience. Crossbasket Castle has stood, in one form or another, in the 14 acres of grounds at the border of East Kilbride and High Blantyre for six centuries. The new hotel building that now sits alongside the historic landmark has opened following a £20million investment by the 34th and current owners of the castle, Steve and Alison Timoney. They created a luxury hotel and event venue from the 16th-century tower with Georgian and Victorian extensions that they rescued from dereliction in 2016. Since then it has become one of Scotland's leading wedding venues and the fine dining restaurant that was established by Albert Roux and then continued by his son Michel Roux Jr held a 3-Rosette from the AA Restaurant Guide. Michel Roux Jr now oversees the menu at Trocadero's which brings together champagne, lavish dinners and live entertainment from a substantial roster of bands and musicians. Every aspect of the hotel has been carefully crafted, from the pristine gardens to the handcrafted furniture. In contrast to the period opulence of the castle itself, the hotel is modern, stylish and designed to sit within its tranquil surroundings. The interiors are inspired by Art Deco designs of the 1920s and 1930s with opulent fabrics selected to enhance the sophisticated sleek aesthetic, and rich earth tones of green, orange and brown captured in the soft furnishings. Within the new hotel sits two restaurants: Foveran's is an bright and serene atrium where natural daylight floods the room with a palm court-style setting for a laidback breakfast or lunch. Trocadero's is overseen by Michelin-starred chef Michel Roux who works with chefs at the hotel to create a menu to match the luxury setting. Guests can expect to be transported to a magical bygone era that promises top music entertainment acts, an immersive dining experience, cocktails and an excellent wine list. Inside Trocadero's, guests will find mood lighting, candlelit tables and plush seating, setting the stage for a romantic dining experience, reminiscent of the classic underground jazz clubs which inspired its concept. The restaurant has a dedicated stage, where live performances take place seven nights a week, and its own troupe of dancers. Still to come as part of the new development is the luxury Four Angels Spa which will open at Crossbasket Castle in autumn 2025, alongside two new luxurious eco-cottages that are set to create additional private havens within the castle's estate. Crossbasket Castle is managed by Inverlochy Castle Management International, which operates 12 other independent luxury properties around Scotland, including Inverlochy Castle, near Fort William, and Greywalls Hotel in Gullane. Rooms at Crossbasket Castle Hotel start from £195, within the 40 rooms available there are two suites and four junior suites. There are nine rooms within the castle itself that start from £360. The Roosevelt Ballroom has seating for up to 250 guests. The James Little Hall has seating for 250 for ceremonies and receptions, 120 for dining, and Bailey Room and Stewart room can accommodate events for up to 40 people. Crossbasket Castle, Stoneymeadow Rd, High Blantyre G72 9UE 1 . Crossbasket Castle On arrival at Crossbasket Castle we took advantage of the good weather and explored the gardens and the riverside walk behind the main house. It's a picture perfect setting that now includes the traditional Scottish baronial grandeur of the castle and the modern luxury of the new hotel. | contributed Photo Sales 2 . Crossbasket Castle rooms A stay in a Scottish castle is the kind of experience that many travellers dream about and Crossbasket has a small collection of rooms to transport you to a different age of hospitality. Accommodation includes the Lindsay Tower Suite with rooms spread across four-storeys of a 17th century castle tower, with views across the estate. Each room includes antique furnishings, rich fabrics, heavy curtains and deep carpets. | Crossbasket Photo Sales 3 . Afternoon tea We began our stay with champagne afternoon tea in the drawing room of the castle. In these wonderfully atmospheric surroundings we were served artisan sandwiches and canapes, followed by freshly baked fruit and plain scones with homemade jam and clotted cream before a selection of homemade cakes. We ordered a pot of Afternoon Gold, a black tea blend of floral Darjeeling and fruity Ceylon. This was enjoyed with glasses of Taittinger Brut and rosé champagnes. | Crossbasket Castle Photo Sales 4 . Deluxe Double Bedroom Our room on the ground floor was stylish and comfortable. A separate bathroom with shower, Art Deco flourishes, a big cosy bed, well stocked mini-fridge, coffee machine and tea selection. Created with attention to detail, these are some of the newest luxury rooms you can find in Scotland but are rooted in a classic form of hospitality. They add to the hotel's sense of identity and grand design. | Contributed Photo: Contributed Photo Sales
BBC News
08-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Jersey Royal Potatoes centre stage with Corrie in ad campaign
An advert celebrating Jersey Royal Potatoes, an important sector of Jersey's agricultural economy, has been shown during the advert breaks in Coronation Street as part of a new potato producer Albert Bartlett is unrolling a £3m ad campaign featuring TV chef Michel Roux Jr to mark the Jersey Royal Potato is the first time the producer has created a campaign supporting Jersey Royals since it took over the Jersey Royal Company in ad opens with fifth-generation farmer Nick Mourant surveying his crop before potatoes are seen rolling down the streets to be caught by the public. The advert then cuts to Roux preparing the potatoes in his kitchen, culminating in a family enjoying them at the dinner table. Jersey Royals can be traced back to 1878 when many different varieties were being been grown on the island. A local farmer, Hugh de la Haye, found two enormous potatoes in a local store, and that led to the development of the Jersey Royal, now Jersey's biggest crop export, accounting for about 70% of agricultural turnover, according to a report in 2024. The value of exports of the potato variety, according to the most recent figures from the Government of Jersey in 2017, was £ Hicks, marketing director at Albert Bartlett, said: "It's a feel-good ad that pays homage to the rich history of Jersey Royal and the traditional farming methods still deployed on the island today."
Telegraph
06-05-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
How chefs stay slim and fit (despite long hours and leftovers)
Between the pace, the pressure, the rich food and the late nights, the life of a chef is not for the faint-hearted – or the health conscious. The 2021 film Boiling Point, set in London's hottest restaurant on the busiest night of the year, got its name for good reason. Around 41 per cent of UK chefs say their job impacts their wellbeing negatively and almost three-quarters admit to calling in sick because of stress, according to a survey. And we all know that regular stress plus irregular sleep plus high calorie foods is a recipe for obesity. The saying goes: 'If you can't stand the heat, get out the kitchen.' But now, as more chefs are looking at the longevity of the career they love, they're taking a new approach: a healthier one. Tom Kerridge is power-lifting. Gordon Ramsay has run 15 marathons and five ultras. Michel Roux Jr swears by yoga and Pilates. Here, the three top chefs explain how they are leading by example in their restaurants, prioritising their careers by looking after themselves and putting their health first. 'You only change when you're ready' Paul Ainsworth In the last two years, Michelin-starred Paul Ainsworth, 45, has overhauled his diet and become the fittest he's ever been. All while managing his restaurant empire in Cornwall. He's also a veteran judge on Great British Menu. He ran the London Marathon this year, having competed in Zurich Ironman last year. What did life look like before your health kick? I was always overweight as a child. I grew up surrounded by 1980s diet culture and I remember Mum packing me off to school with a Slim Fast. It probably wasn't the best thing to do, but I don't blame her. Then, in my 20s in London it was all 18-hour days and stubbies of lager. I wasn't overweight because I was working so much. I don't regret any of my path, but I'm not going to put that on younger chefs and say: 'That's what you need to do to get to the top.' People want to have a quality of life now and that's correct. When it comes to dieting to manage my weight, where I always went wrong was going to extremes. I'd say, 'Right, no carbs, I'm just eating meat.' It might work for some people, but then I find you crave bread and potatoes. With all the exercise I was doing to train for the London Marathon, if I didn't eat properly I would get horrible fatigue from the exercise. Last year I was 110kg and when I went into Iron Man I was 93kg. I'm currently 83kg, and I still enjoy a good pizza. I think for me, eating well comes down to making better choices, saying: 'I don't need that dessert.' When were you at your most unfit? In 2015, I had a lot going on. We were expanding the business and I'd taken on the restaurants Caffè Rojano and the Padstow Townhouse. My wife Emma was pregnant with our daughter Cici and I also found out my dad had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. When we got to the really horrible bit with Dad's cancer I was just in this rut of bad eating. I didn't want to cook. I was numb. I'd just order takeaways. Seeing pictures from back then is quite traumatic. I just look lost. I had one pair of jeans I felt comfortable in. What do you eat at home? Two years ago, my diet was completely different. But now, I wake up and have an electrolyte drink and a black coffee. I'm a big fan of intermittent fasting; I will try and stop eating at 8pm. I'll usually have my first meal at midday. I'll have four or five fried St Ewe eggs with good sourdough, which is just flour, water, and ferment. One of my favourite things growing up was my Granny Ainsworth making me eggs and soldiers and it reminds me of that. In the evenings it's steak, new potatoes – steamed and roasted in a bit of butter – and a feta salad. I will eat steak five or six times a week. We like the marinated roast chicken thighs our butcher Philip Warren does too. I only have two meals a day, apart from on Sunday when I get my run done nice and early and then make Cici pancakes. That's our day as a family. Tell us about your weekly exercise regimen and why it works My aim for the London Marathon was to be able to say I did it in sub four hours. As the weeks passed, I thought I could get near to 3.46 but I had to pivot on the day, the heat was brutal. At mile 21 I changed my plan and went back to sub 4. I was hurting and the places you go in your mind is extraordinary. I managed 3.56 officially, and 3.54 by my watch. Leading up to the marathon I was running 50k a week, doing one 2,000m swim and two indoor Zwift cycles. I also have a gym at home. After the London Marathon, I had a rest week then will start training for an Iron Man. I need goals so I'm not just training in the dark. Exercise is now my form of meditation. It has absolutely changed my life. I feel calmer, have more energy. I can work out problems better than I've ever done. I'm the fittest I've ever been in my life. What changed your attitude towards food and fitness? When I moved to Cornwall in 2005, I got into running and body boarding, but I just couldn't find the consistency with it. Work always came first. Even when I ran the marathon in 2019 to raise money for Pancreatic Cancer UK, training was going well until I got the call asking us to take on The Mariners restaurant. At that point it went out the window. As a result, at mile 18 the wheels came off. Then in 2022, I went to London and had a health MOT. The doctor said you do need to change your lifestyle. I had a good heart rate, but I was overweight. You only change when you're ready. In 2023, something just clicked and changed. I realised I was never going to be less busy with work and I was in my prime to change. Gordon Ramsey, whom I'd worked for and is a great friend, recommended Chris Dominey to me, an Iron Man and triathlon coach he trains with when he's in Cornwall. Chris did some reverse psychology on me. He said: 'I'm not a drill sergeant. If you don't turn up, that's your call.' That was like a red rag to a bull. I thought, 'After everything I've built, you think I can't commit to some sessions?' What is the most demanding aspect of your job? One lesson I was taught early on is that it's all about the people. The team builds the success of the business. We now employ over 250 people, and that's a massively demanding aspect. While I'm a chef at heart, I'm not on a section day in and day out now. I'm running a collection of businesses at the highest standard. I have to be my best. Now, I feel like I'm advocating looking after yourself for my whole team. That puts out good energy to look after yourself. 'I eat so clean in the week, I can eat what I want at the weekend' Tommy Banks Chef director Tommy Banks, 35, owns the The Black Swan, The Abbey Inn and Roots. He earned his first Michelin star at 24 and is a veteran judge on BBC's The Great British Menu, having won the competition in 2016, 2017, and 2020. A sporty child and a keen gym-goer, he has navigated a chronic illness, a back injury as well as a high-pressure job as a chef to find a health regime that works for him. What was life like before your health kick? I was actually really into cricket growing up and I played other sports as well. Then I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis when I was 18 and needed major operations. My bowel was removed and my cricket career ended. I fell into cooking after that. Working ridiculously hard and working all hours kept me quite skinny. Then about five years ago I got really into the gym, until I got two herniated discs in my back. My wife was having to push me around on my office chair. I had a one-year-old daughter that I struggled to pick up. My diet was also not the greatest and I put on weight. I was probably 108kg. I got to a point where I was told I needed surgery. But then I went to see a physio who said I didn't need surgery, I just needed a proper rehab plan. He reckoned in 12 weeks I'd be pain-free. At that point I'd been in pain for 15 months; taking tramadol at night so I could sleep. My wife said I needed to treat it like work and put it into my calendar. It was an intense programme, building leg, core and glute strength. The majority of people get herniated discs because of wear and tear, what you need to do is make yourself strong in other areas so you're bullet proof. This was two years ago. I marked the one-year anniversary by doing a Hyrox. Since then, I've kept training, running and doing weights. I feel good. I'm now 96kg and have a lot more muscle. I'm in good shape, feel super healthy and use the InBody scales at the gym to measure my weight but also my fat and muscle. I've got the York Ten race coming up. I'd like to do another Hyrox event but I keep missing out on tickets. It's a really cool occasion. I love the fact that a fairly middling fit person like me can compete at the same time as some really high level guys What do you eat at home? I have eight eggs for breakfast in the morning and maybe a little bit of bacon. They could be scrambled, in an omelette or poached. That's 56 eggs a week. A lot of our businesses are spread across North Yorkshire and I spend a lot of time in the car, knowing I'm not going to eat very well. If I eat eight eggs in the morning I know I had something nutritionally perfect that fills me up and gives me energy. When I have carbs I crash and I can't concentrate. I don't see any value in counting calories because not all calories are equal. It's a rubbish metric. My thing is protein. I have over 200g of protein a day easily. My fat will be well over 100g but I will only have 30g of carbs. I use Chat GPT if I want to figure out where I'm at. It gives me a macro nutrient breakdown. I have a theory that I can have what I want for dinner. If I'm home, I'll have steak and veg. Every weekend we go out. I still love nothing more than going to our pubs and having a full Sunday roast, pints of beer or a pizza. Because I eat so clean in the week, I can eat what I want at the weekend. I get to enjoy the craft side because I'm looking after myself the rest of the time. Tell us about your weekly exercise regimen and why it works A typical exercise week is three strength gym sessions a week. Sometimes it's only two because that's life. I also run twice a week. If I'm away for a week with work I will train every day, because I'm away from my family. Previously I would have gone and got drunk. I like big movements like bench pressing, that's my favourite because you get to lie down. Blocks of weight training mean you might get a personal best. I find running training more frustrating. My personal trainer might say, 'I want you to do a really slow zone 2 run'. And I can't be bothered with that. I just want to always run as fast as I'm able to. Which isn't very fast. I'm quite a big guy so I don't really do distance; I like doing between 7-10km. I'd like to run a marathon at some point but I just think I find the training really boring. Exercise is part of my holistic approach to looking after myself. If you feel healthy and you're not hungover, overweight, or tired, you deal with the stress so much better. What is the most demanding aspect of your job? The hours and travel mean the lifestyle of hospitality and being fit and healthy are not always aligned. We do a lot of events that involve long days and sleeping in hotel rooms and that makes it hard to have a routine. Some nights I have tea with my family and the next night I'm working until 1am in the morning. I do think that if you'd talked about this five years ago it would have been very different, but younger chefs are more health conscious. We used to drink every night. Young chefs don't. They're more likely to finish work and go to a 24-hour gym. You see protein shakes in the kitchens all the time. The culture has changed a lot. How do you stay disciplined with food? The nature of being a senior chef means you have to try everything, which could mean a lot of desserts. There's no real pattern to your eating. Now on a typical day I try to eat very low carbs. I'll have my eggs for breakfast. Then if I'm on the go, I chuck something super convenient in my bag like a tin of fish, high fat cottage cheese or Greek yogurt with some nut butter. That will be my lunch. Now I only eat things that are really unhealthy if they're really good versions. I'm never going to eat a Kit Kat, but if you offered me an amazing piece of chocolate gâteau from a French patisserie, I'm going to eat it 100 times out of 100. It's not healthy but it will be absolutely delicious. That's my rule. I won't eat Domino's, but I'll have a beautiful Neapolitan-style pizza. The same with alcohol. Previously I would drink socially. If someone offered me a bottle of lager, I'd drink it, even though I don't really like lager. I drink a fraction of the wine I used to, but I drink better quality. 'It's easy to lose count of what you're eating as a chef' Jack Croft When Jack Croft, 32, opened London restaurant Fallow, he reached 'another level of unhealthy'. Then when the UK went into lockdown, the chef who also owns FOWL and Roe, as well as a viral cooking social platform @ took his health into his own hands. What was life like before your health kick? My dad was a chef so my whole childhood was around good quality food. It was amazing, our Sundays were filled with cooking and making desserts and french dishes like coq au vin and tarte tatin. But obviously, it was also not great for your health. When we opened Fallow that was another level of unhealthy. We were working 18-hour days until the early hours, six days a week. My wife and I say that was my ugly phase. There was a lot of Pret sandwiches, anything convenient really, for a solid year. I was only 29 and my posture was bad from work and my knees hurt. It was the lockdown that made things change. I'd always had an interest in fitness, but it was lying dormant. I'd been very into the gym when I was 17 and even did a personal training course before deciding that I did want to be a chef. When the lockdown happened, it came at a point when we'd been working so hard. Then suddenly I had this 30-minute window to exercise everyday. That period was important for my mental wellbeing. It became a daily release from work. I started off going to Barry's Bootcamp and slowly took my fitness up a level. I'm on a training plan at the moment. I'm putting a bit of weight on on purpose to strip it back down. That's why I've started counting calories. It's easy to lose count of what you're having as a chef. Monitoring my meals recently has been really eye opening. What's for breakfast? I get up at 6.45am, do my black coffee and all my vitamins and tablets then I usually cycle to work, so there's an element of fasted cardio. I'll have my breakfast, usually with a banana and 120g of oats and yogurt when I get to work. What does a normal day look like for you food-wise? On a normal day I'm pretty regimented. I take my lunch into the restaurant with me. Something like pasta and chicken or mince and sweet potato. I like to eat very plain for balance. I know during service I'm going to be tasting things with butter and olive oil or rib eye steak. When I get home in the evening I'll have some yogurt or a protein shake. My wife's a good cook but we still eat relatively plain. I'm not at home to eat a massive amount. I get two days off a week and usually one of those days we'll go out for a meal to a restaurant opening perhaps, even then I'll make healthy choices. Before I would have had three servings of the bread and 'keep the butter coming'. Or a cheeseboard. Now I actively move away from those things. I still enjoy a glass of champagne or a cocktail. It's all the little extras that I now try and avoid. Tell us about your weekly exercise regimen and why it works I cycle to work every day and have done for the last 15 years. I don't even class that as exercise, it's my commute and gives me a base line of fitness. Then in the afternoon I'll do more strength stuff in the gym. Right now I've parked endurance style work outs as I don't have enough time. I've got a second child on the way. I enjoy doing the exercise because it means I can eat more. You're not a chef if you don't love food. I still like to have a drink. So it's just about balance. I've developed my routine so it works for me. I wouldn't say I'm as fit as I have been. In the past I've done a couple of triathlons and a couple of half marathons. Right now, I'm putting more effort into being stronger. I'm at a stage where I'm trying to understand my body a bit more rather than pushing it to the limits. I want to understand how it puts on and loses weight. What is the most demanding aspect of your job? Balancing it with the family is always tricky. We're still in a period of growth as a business, opening three restaurants in three years. Being in the restaurants is my dream, but I also want to be at home as much as possible. The demands on you really depend on what kind of environment you're in. If you're in a kitchen where there is a nice healthy meal laid out for the staff and everyone talks about healthy things, like instead of going for a pint they go for a bike ride, then you're going to be influenced by that. I think being more health conscious is a shift in everyone. Half the restaurants now are filled with people wearing gym gear.
