I never dreamed I would play the Palladium
Celebrity chef James Martin tells MARION MCMULLEN about taking his cooking on tour and getting back to business after lockdown
You’re hitting the road next year with a nationwide tour. What is the first thing you will be packing?
(Laughs) The knives. I’ll be b ****** d if I don’t take the good kitchen knives ... and a small Yoda.
I’ve a little Yoda toy and I take it with me. It sits in my guitar case and then my dressing room, and when you press it, it comes out with these different sayings.
It’s like my good luck charm. I took it with me on the first tour and Yoda’s probably been to 100 venues with me by now.
What can audiences expect?
It’s going to be bigger and better than the last two tours. We’ve had some really great fun with tours in the past. Of course, I’ll be cooking and trying to teach everyone some tips and tricks, but fear not, there will be plenty of humour injected into these shows, so prepare to have a really good night out.
A fairground ride will be part of it. I’m renovating that now and I’ve had time to think about it for the past six months. I’ve been talking to a few of my mates about doing something for the tour and we’ve been filming them in advance. I’ve been in the studio as well, with the band, getting ready for it.
What does it take to go on tour?
A 38-tonne truck full of stuff and a refrigerated van for all the food. It’s not as much as you need for a big rock tour, but it is still a lot.
We’ve built the set already. I’ll be filming four days before we go on tour and then it will be 19 days straight. It’s the only time I can do it after the Christmas and New Year rush in the restaurants. And I definitely could not do it in the summer because there is so much work going on.
The tour takes you to 18 towns and cities ending at the London Palladium. Are you looking forward to it?
I played the Hammersmith Apollo last time and it was amazing. Now I’m going to play the Palladium.
I used to go past it when I was working as a young chef in London. I feel so lucky. All the things I have done in my life. I never dreamed I would play the Palladium or the Apollo or sell out Glasgow and get a standing ovation.
I think, ‘I’m a farmer’s lad. What the hell happened here?’.
I also played with my band at Carfest this year, in front of 30,000 people, and then did a cookery demonstration.
Any plans yet for your 50th birthday next year?
I don’t feel any different. The only difference is 10 years ago I’d get up and my first thought would be about going to work and now my first thought is ‘I want to pee’.
I still have the same work ethic and enthusiasm. I’m a better chef than when I was 30, without a shadow of a doubt, and I was better at 30 than I was at 20.
You get better the older you are. I’ve a few ideas for my birthday, but you don’t know what can happen. A sell-out tour would be a nice present.
Do you think more people turned to cooking during the lockdowns?
I think there was a huge appetite for cookery shows during lockdowns because people could not go to restaurants, but I think now they feel p***ed off at home and want to go out again.
Some ingredients were hard to get hold of. I made pasta for my entire village. I could get hold of eggs and flour and made 2,000 kilos of pasta for everyone.
How did you cope during the lockdowns?
(Laughs) I think I must have mowed my lawn about 50 million times. I even had headlights on the mower in winter.
I’m lucky, I have quite a big garden and was able to get out. I feel sorry for those who were in little flats.
I always had stuff to do in the garden. I kept myself busy. There’s always lots of things that need doing at my place. I’m always up at six in the morning doing stuff.
I missed my restaurants, the kitchen and the companionship there. I just missed the cooking over that whole Covid time.
I remember at the start of it all having a bet with my mates how long it would all last. They said three to four months. I said two years.
Now I think, like going to a restaurant, people want to come out and get dressed up and we are looking to give them the best experience.
I still have the same work ethic and enthusiasm... you get better as you get older James Martin
The James Martin Live tour starts on March 3. Go to ticketmaster.co.uk for tour and booking information