The chef and presenter shares his love of the Gunners, The Galloping Gourmet and getting ready for Christmas
I don’t mess with Christmas. I’m a traditionalist. I have a Kelly turkey and a lovely big ham. You’re with the ones you love, so why not push the boat out? And it means on Boxing Day I can make a turkey and ham pie – which is great if you’ve had a decent drink the day before. And I love a good old pudding: I start soaking the dried fruit in October.
Adaptability is a great thing. My father Chester was a classical pianist, but he couldn’t earn money from that. So he adapted, started playing jazz in London clubs. My mother was a wonderful cook. We learnt recently that my grandfather cooked at the White House, and he must have passed on his skills to his children – my mum was the eldest of nine.
Graham Kerr, the TV chef known as The Galloping Gourmet, impressed me. I used to come home from school and watch his show. He was inspiring and he’d always crack jokes. I still have his books – the food pictures are in black and white, and really awful!
I’m a big backgammon player. I love the calmness of it. I used to play with the older guys when I was young – we’d have a nice chat. My board is looking well used these days, but I like things that have an age to them.
Food and football are two of my favourite things. I’m an Arsenal fan and have three season tickets – my children often come with me. So working on the new series Ainsley’s World Cup Flavours has been great. We go around
