Our regular contributor and one of the UK’s best-known chefs, Tom is on a mission to motivate the nation to shop and cook more sustainably. Plus, he shares exclusive recipes from his new book Tom Kerridge Cooks Britain
interview KEITH KENDRICK photographs CHRISTIAN BARNETT
Tom Kerridge
My new show [coming to ITV later in the year] ties in with the book; it’s a bit old-school – we get a food truck, visit suppliers, find beautiful ingredients, cook them in the field and eat them. It celebrates great British dishes, farming and the people of those communities. I’ve seen a lot of good travel shows, but it’s about time that we look back and see how the British food scene has changed.
It’s a really important time to celebrate seasonality and British ingredients. British farmers are under pressure more than ever after Brexit, and the push to improve farming standards. They’re being undercut on prices from trade deals that are being done globally, such as the use of cheaper imported lamb from New Zealand. It doesn’t make sense.
Make the most of seasonal ingredients – when something is growing in abundance, we should be using it. The recipes in my new book are about the simplicity of ingredients and moving away from ultra-processed foods. It’s better for our health and budget if you cook with the seasons, and it supports British farming.
Shop locally, if you can. Even supermarkets are stocking locally produced products now. Like M&S selling single-apiary honeys from your local bee farmer. Shopping locally helps the local economy thrive, and keeps people in jobs.
I love asparagus, but my favourite British ingredient is strawberries. Try baking them, sprinkling with a bit of sugar, adding some Pimm’s and gently poaching them in the oven. Leave them to cool and you’ve got soft, slightly roasted strawberries. Serve with some whipped mascarpone and vanilla shortbread.
Britain has so much fantastic produce. I love apples and pears from Kent – it’s known as the Garden of England for a reason.
And veg from Norfolk and Suffolk; they have an amazing farming community. But I actually think some of the best local produce comes from the north of England and Scotland where everything is a bit more extreme. The wind is cold and elements are hardier, meaning when the crops do well, they’ve come through it all, they’re super-fit. It’s like produce that’s been to the gym, it’s incredible.
Sustainability, understanding the environment and wastage is a big thing for restaurants
