Life lessons with James Martin
With a new TV food show called Islands to Highlands set to start, celebrity chef and presenter JAMES MARTIN (47) tells us what makes him tick
Always strive to do your best
I am a North Yorkshire lad, brought up on the Castle Howard estate where my parents were farmers. It taught me the meaning of graft and also gave me a respect for produce and animals and their welfare, which has stayed with me all my life. My parents told me, ‘You’re getting nowt, because there isn’t owt.’ I knew there was no house or business I was going to inherit, so I learnt from a young age that if I wanted to succeed, I was going to have to work for it.
I am dyslexic…
… but I wasn’t diagnosed until I was 32. I failed all my exams at school and hated it. But I always had drive and helped my mum in the kitchen on the estate, and after I left school at 16 I went to catering college. I have a strong work ethic built into me from an early age; my mum, Sue, still works and she’s 72. I can work seven days a week sometimes. I am always motivated and busy. If you put the work in, you get the rewards out.
Giving time is precious
I do a lot of work for hospices. Whenever I’m in an area, I try to pop into one, as they do tremendous work. I don’t put my chef’s hat on and cook, I just listen.
At a hospice in Ireland some of the people I met were very unwell, so we just sat chatting. I was so touched afterwards when I got wonderful letters from their families. I didn’t do anything, I just gave them my time. Raising money is fine but giving your time is more precious than any chequebook.
New adventures are great
It’s good to expand your horizons whatever your age. For my latest series, Islands to Highlands, I cook and eat everywhere from Cornwall to Scilly, Jersey and Guernsey, the Isle of Man to Shetland, the Peak District, Lake District and Yorkshire Moors, and from Wales to Skye. I’ve got a motorhome and I could drive around the UK all day long. I absolutely love it.
I love cooking
I have loved food since I was little. My granddad used to say, ‘Why don’t you get a proper job?’ He wanted me to play cricket for Yorkshire. But cooking for people is all I have ever wanted to do. I think my job is the best in the world.
Save up for something special
Each year I set myself a goal, work towards it and then treat myself. When I was a kid, I’d get pocket money for gardening, paper rounds, and washing-up, and I would always put it to one side and save up to buy something nice that I could keep. I still have the BMX bike I bought when I was ten, and all my Evel Knievel toys!
Cherish the simple pleasures
My mum’s beef roast with Yorkshire pudding and fish and chips from Whitby are just the very best!
One of the joys of my life is that I’m surrounded by food. Gradually, as you get older, you appreciate and respect what you’ve got and what you have around you. Your health, your family and friends – they are the most important things in life.
■ Islands to Highlands is on ITV from April 6, Mondays to Fridays.
■ James was talking to Jane Oddy