The expert ceramic designer and judge on TV’s The Great Pottery Throw Down has created thousands of mugs and bowls in his long career – but what does he like to eat and drink from them? Keith talks pizza-making in his Whitstable studio, salutes his mother’s high teas – and reveals the snacks he stashes in the green room
INTERVIEW: PHOEBE STONE. PHOTOGRAPHS: ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES, LIZ SEABROOK
My mother was an amazing cook. When we were growing up in the 1970s, she would do a nutritional food plan for the week. She was a domestic cookery teacher and was making spaghetti bolognese and lasagnes before anyone else was. We weren’t allowed to leave anything on our plate: if we did, it would be there the next day and we’d have to eat it. But that’s made me now able to eat everything and anything.
I’m never more in my happy place than when I’m in the studio. I love my own company. There were days – years ago – where I wouldn’t talk to anyone all day. I had Radio 4 on and that did me fine, to the point where I imagine it’s a bit unhealthy – this hermit mentality. I often describe pottery as one of my greatest companions – apart from my partner Marj, obviously. I haven’t known my adult life without clay. It’s been an incredible solace and support to me.
My go-to snack is radishes, and cheese with biscuits or apple. My weakness? Scotch eggs and pork pies; I’m your typical bloke. There’s a motorway service station on the way up to Scotland called Tebay with a great farm shop, where I stock up on scotch eggs. They usually last me for the duration of our stay. Marj’s family are from the Isle of Bute and my sister lives in Oban.
I’m pretty harsh on myself.
There’s always a certain percentage of me that’s slightly disappointed with myself, because I’m trying to attain perfection. A lot of chefs probably suffer from that as well. But a few years ago, I came to this sudden realisation that there’s no such thing as perfection. It’s quite subjective, especially in a creative field, and one should just enjoy the process rather than the end goal. Since I’ve had that revelation, I’ve enjoyed my work far more.
Food is important on set – it’s a morale booster. It’s amazing how much conversation is taken up by what we had to eat that day on The Great Pottery Throw Down. Rich the judge, presenter Siobhán and I have lunch in the green room together and talk about what’s been going on. Rich is a stickler for Skittles – he has loads of them. I have San Pellegrino and bananas. And
