James joining the star-studded chef line-up in the park
He has been a staple of Saturday morning telly for over a decade, has opened his own restaurants and cookery school and finished fourth in Strictly Come Dancing in 2005.
Now, celebrity chef James Martin is coming to Bath to help out his pal, Tom Kerridge, at the 2020 Pub in the Park event in Victoria Park.
Joining fellow chefs Angela Hartnett, Atul Kochhar, Rob Howell, Chris Cleghorn, Josh Eggleton and Stephen Terry, James will be helping to showcase some of the city’s delicious food.
He said: “It’s a fantastic event. It brings together great food, great chefs, restaurants and music. Beverly Knight is going to be there, as is Morcheeba – they’re both really good and I get to go and watch the performances, which is nice.
“I enjoy it because I’m able to move around a bit more – I often do Q&A sessions and book signings and can speak with people as they make their way around, while the chefs are busy in their areas.
“It’s good to get together with them all. Our industry is quite tightknit and I’ve worked before with some of the chefs that will be at the event.
“The weather, if it’s bad, also doesn’t put people off as they’re there to enjoy some of the best food around. Here it’s all about the food, and visitors can choose a time slot – either daytime or evening – to stop things getting too crowded.”
It is not the first time James has taken part in a foodie festival. Last year’s Food and Drink Festival in Bolton saw a record-breaking 400,000 people attend to see the likes of him, the Hairy Bikers, Gregg Wallace and Simon Wood.
It is also not the first time James has visited Bath, having toured here in 2016 with his Plates, Mates And Automobiles show at The Forum.
“There are lots of brilliant restaurants in Bath,” he said “Each time I’m there, though, I make a beeline straight for a guitar shop – I’ve bought two guitars from one so far!”
Last year, James performed at Chris Evans’ Carfest South, playing the guitar during a headline slot in front of around 40,000 people.
With a few restaurants to his name, he understands some of the struggles many on high streets may face.
Over the last year or so, Bath itself has lost the likes of Jamie’s Italian and Carluccio’s.
James said: “The high street is hard anyway, but restaurants are usually the first to go. There’s an extremely low profit margin, high rent and rates and usually very little parking in city centres, meaning people would rather dine outside of the city in country pubs and places like that.
“You shouldn’t put it down to Brexit, though. It’s not Brexit’s fault.
“It all comes down to whether people want to see their favourite restaurant stay open. If yes, they should go there.
“If a restaurant stands the test of time, it will stay.”
When asked if he knew of any rising stars people should be looking out for, James was quick to praise one of his own.
He runs cookery courses at The Kitchen at Chewton Glen. But it’s his chef de partie and head of pastry at James Martin Manchester, Exose Lopo-ndinga, who James dubs “one to watch”.
Exose appeared on Masterchef: The Professionals and Bake Off: The Professionals last year and won Chef of the Year 2019 at the Caesars Entertainment Chef & Bartender Awards.
James stepped down from his role on BBC’S Saturday Kitchen in 2016, but is not straying from Saturday morning cooking shows – his latest series, on ITV, is called Saturday Morning with James Martin.
James said: “I did Saturday Kitchen for 10 years and that meant every weekend for 10 years I was filming the show live and then going back into my kitchen and working a shift.
“So I do appreciate being able to film my new show in advance – it gives me more time in my kitchen.”
But he added: “A chef’s hours aren’t a problem – they come with the job. If you have a passion for food, the hours don’t matter, really.” ■ Pub in the Park runs from June 19 to 21 in Royal Victoria Park, Bath.