Kerridge’s saucy nod to hometown chippy

WHEN diners at Tom Kerridge’s restaurant order a plate of fish and chips – for the not inconsiderable sum of £32.50 – it comes accompanied by a delicately spiced “Matson sauce”.

Waiters explain that the name derives from an estate in Gloucester, conjuring images of rolling parkland. The reality, the chef has disclosed, is a little less picturesque. The sauce is actually named after a council estate and based on the curry sauce he ate from the local chip shop.

“Matson chippy was just around the corner from where we moved to. We used to have chips with curry sauce, which was lush,” he said. He decided to recreate it for his restaurants: “It’s rich, salty and sweet, vegetable curry sauce with dried fruit through it. I didn’t want to call it ‘chip shop curry sauce’ in a two Michelin star restaurant so I called it ‘Matson sauce’. Every restaurant we have has got Matson sauce.

“And I love the fact people are in this posh restaurant having Matson sauce. Front of house explain that it’s an estate in Gloucester and you can see them thinking, like, an estate with deer on it – not an estate with swings that haven’t got the swing bit.”

Kerridge told Cheltenham Literature Festival that Oprah Winfrey was a recent satisfied customer.

Justifying the high price of his fish and chips, the chef said: “This is fresh turbot. Turbot is very expensive. The chips are very expensive potatoes and each one is cut individually. If you had pan-roasted turbot, pomme purée and sauce gribiche for £32.50, no one would question anything.”

The chef also shared some tips. To make spaghetti bolognese, he advises roasting the mince on a baking tray in the oven for an hour until it goes crispy, then rehydrating it in the pan.