The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - The Telegraph Magazine
My Saturday
At home with Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge
The Michelin-starred chef and restaurateur, 46, on morning runs, delivering meals to NHS workers and Facetiming his mum
7am Little man, our son Acey [four], wakes us up. Then I have a straight black from the Nespresso machine and maybe an apple. 8am
I go for a run past my office, in Bisham [near Tom’s house in Marlow], listening to oldschool piano house. 9am I shower and use Heaven moisturiser stuff for my head. Then I cook breakfast. Acey is quite good at making omelettes. 12pm It’s time on the phone and catching up with emails. We’ve shut many of our businesses [including The Hand & Flowers, Marlow], though The Butcher’s Tap [in the same town] is open, selling meat, ready meals and dry goods. I call each restaurant manager every week to make sure they’re OK. You can let it swamp you or you can go, ‘What is our skill set, what can we do to help?’ We’re setting up a charitable fund, Meals from Marlow, to deliver meals to local front-line work- ers, hopefully building to 1,000 a day. Loads of furloughed staff want to volunteer. 1pm Lunch is often soup. I like pea and ham; my wife – and business partner – Beth is all over the chicken. 2pm We’ve got a garden with a trampoline, a climbing frame, a swing and a slide. Yesterday Acey rode his toy motorbike down the slide – I spend an hour and a half a day trying to avoid going to A&E with him. He’s been coping not too badly [with lockdown]. He Facetimes his best friend and they show each other dinosaurs. 3.30pm I’ve been doing lockdown-dinner videos [which Tom posts on Instagram] from the office, where I cook things from the cupboards – everyday stuff. I make up recipes as I go, a pie or a chocolate mousse using a Wispa. 4.30pm I Facetime my mum, who’s in her 70s, every day.
5.30pm We cook Acey’s tea. The other night, he had burgers in the shape of gingerbread men. Otherwise we’ll cook something to have together, like a roast. 7pm We run a bath then read a book – Acey’s favourite is Poo Bum by Stephanie Blake. 8.15pm We’ll catch up on Tyson Fury: The Gypsy King. I relate to him, in terms of overcoming [problems with] alcohol. 12.30am In bed, I might catch up on social media. I mostly follow food accounts, like Paul Ainsworth and Claude Bosi – both great chefs. (thehandandflowers.co.uk; thebutcherstap.co.uk)