You can't be a chef via Zoom!
| Date | 19 June 2021 |
| Published date | 19 June 2021 |
| Publication title | Paisley Daily Express |
"It's very sad. There are bound to be more [closures] as the furlough scheme ends and that support system goes away," he says, in his familiar west Country accent. "There isn't much we could do about it, apart from take the huge amount of losses and come through the other side."
For Tom - who owns a handful of restaurants and pubs, including The Hand and Flowers in Marlow, the first pub to receive two Michelin stars - and his staff(affectionately called the 'Pirates'), working from home just wasn't an option.
"There are so many other industries where people can have conversations online and that's fine and their business has been able to work. You get into hospitality and it's a vocational job, it's something that's away of life, it's not something you can do on a Zoom call."
when we speak, just before outdoor dining opens up again in the UK, the 47-year-old is knee-deep in preparations for the reopening of The Butchers Tap and Grill beer garden, and raring for "the noise and the buzz of restaurants. The energy, the space, the people being able to smile at each other when you can actually see a smile without a mask..."
Beyond the challenges, Kerridge, who lives in Marlow with his wife Beth and five-year-old son Acey, has been able to appreciate some aspects of lockdown life.
"The chief bonus is that I managed to spend a lot more time with my little man, hanging out a bit more, learning to ride a bike and all these sort of things that I may well have missed if I was fully immersed in restaurants."
And now he's launching his next book, per- Marcus fectly timed for the arrival of summer . Outdoor Cooking: The Ultimate Modern Barbecue Bible is Kerridge's ode to al-fresco cooking, which he particularly loves because it allows him to socialise at the same time as serving up delicious food.
"You've got your friends and family around, there are people hanging out... for me it's a great space to be. You're immersed in it, you're not just stuck in the back."
Not that he's one to hog the barbecue tongs, however: "No, I'm quite happy to let rashford other people have a go! Although I do thoroughly enjoy when you're outdoors, that social bit of cooking."
Plus, he loves the variety of an international melting-pot menu. "You can travel the world with a barbecue. You can have Koreanstyle kimchi as a side garnish, and then you can have...
To continue reading
Request your trial