Marco’s secret vegan past

HE IS the original bad-boy chef who once made Gordon ramsay cry.

Now Marco Pierre White, who launched a range of eponymous steak houses, confesses he used to be a vegan. Marco, having amassed three coveted Michelin stars by the age of 33, says: ‘I was a vegan for nine months. I lost five stone in weight.

‘I was just curious to see what it was like. If I was a vegan now, I’d go and live in Sri Lanka or India. Delicious food there.’

These days Marco, 56, also turns in early. ‘I couldn’t imagine anything worse than holding a dinner party. I just want to go to bed.

‘I get up really early — I’m often up by 4am. When I used to cook, I’d work late but now I’m sometimes in bed by 9pm. It’s nice. It’s very solitary. I stay at home and never leave.’