Ioncetolddadto getoutofkitchen
Tilly Ramsay learned to cook with the help of chef dad Gordon and cookery writer mum Tana. Now she has her own recipe book out for cooks of all ages
TILLY Ramsay is only 15 and has her own TV show and cookbook but she’s still not in charge of the kitchen at home.
But it’s not her sweary chef dad Gordon who rules the roost, it’s her mum Tana.
Even when it comes to doing the washing-up, Tilly revealed: “I try but mum always says, ‘You’re doing it wrong’, then she takes over.”
Tilly is the youngest daughter of Gordon and Tana.
But Tilly’s Kitchen Takeover is her first book and combines recipes from her CBBC series Matilda And The Ramsay Bunch.
It’s been designed for cookery beginners of all ages, so don’t expect pages strewn with Michelin star dishes – this is food Tillystyle, with only the odd tip from dad woven in.
Tilly, who lives in London and California, said: “He wasn’t overly involved, he just helped me with a few things.
“There were a few recipes I couldn’t nail, and I said, ‘What would you do? How would you improve this?’
“He really helped me there but he wasn’t pushing me to do any of his stuff.
“I would come to him for help, instead of him coming and telling me what to do.” It’s just as well they didn’t create the book together – when they do join forces in the kitchen, things can get out of hand.
Tilly said: “I’d say it’s utter chaos when we’re together. There’s a lot of mess, we’re very loud together.
“We sing, we have a lot of fun, we boss each other around.
“I once told him to get out of my kitchen.
“He nearly made me set stuff on fire because he was distracting me.
“I shut the door and said, ‘Excuse me!’”
Tilly started in the kitchen when she was tiny, chipping in when her parents made dinner, and that has developed into a love of cooking of her own.
However, you won’t find her eating out at fancy restaurants.
She said: “We’ve been to my dad’s Michelin-starred restaurant once.
“That’s because it’s a very special restaurant for him and he keeps us as normal as he can. We go to Wagamama with friends.” She watches Bake Off and MasterChef, loves Justin Bieber, playing sport and hanging out with her mates, and Instagrams like any other teenager – bar the fact she has 159,000 followers and the Beckham kids are in her photos.
Holidays are spent filming her series, while Tilly fits in TV appearances, book commitments and recipe writing around school.
Working with her brother Jack and sisters Holly and Megan, yoga paddleboarding and training with Cirque du Soleil, isn’t exactly painful.
“I think of it as fun,” said Tilly, who is used to being on TV.
She added: “The first few times I did it, it’s obviously quite scary, but now I know it’s good just to be myself.”
Want to join Tilly’s gang, and get the kids involved with cooking? Try this super simple and healthy recipe...