James Martin on respecting farmers, why he could never be vegan and finally feeling content

Food in Britain has never been better, but at such a precarious time for the UK with Brexit looming, Martin wants people to support it’s producers more than ever

Friday 01 March 2019 16:54 GMT
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Fishing with chef Tom Kitchen in episode three in the Scottish Highlands
Fishing with chef Tom Kitchen in episode three in the Scottish Highlands

While growing up on a pig farm, James was involved in the producing, making and cooking of food from a very early age, where his mother taught him to cook.

He's best known for presenting BBC's Saturday Morning Kitchen for 10 years, but he learnt his trade as a chef in France, then worked under Anthony Worrall Thompson and at various Michelin starred restaurants, and has opened his own restaurants too. After giving up his long-standing presenting stint, he began his adventure cookbook series, where his latest, James Martin's Great British Adventure, is the third.

Starting with France, then America, now Martin is looking closer to home to find some of the best food and drink makers from brewers, to fishers and farmers who dedicate their lives to creating world-class ingredients.

Through his journey, which is also aired on ITV with the same name as the book, James meets people upholding old traditions like sustainably fishing for crabs in a way that protects our oceans, as well as people pushing boundaries and modernising food, like the brewer using over fermented beer to make excellent vinegar that's drinkable, both of which contribute to how food culture in Britain has moved on and improved.

It takes a lot to produce food – anyone who's got an allotment will know and appreciate how bloody hard it is to grow

Although not purposely timed, the TV show began just seven weeks before the Brexit date. But James's sole purpose of the programme was to show off what Britain has to offer: beautiful countryside and hard working producers making incredible food and drink, from sheep that's aged to mutton and grazed solely on seaweed on Scotland's northernmost Orknye isle, North Ronaldsay island, to the freshest langoustines and crab in Northern Ireland, to English wine makers at Camel Valley in north Cornwall.

Where did the idea for the adventure series cookbooks come from?

Well I’d just left presenting Saturday Morning Kitchen after 10 years and I’d spent all those years linking to chefs in different places on the show, that I thought why not go to them myself. I’d also trained in France, and I got this old 2cv and drove it around France meeting people in food for the first one, and people liked it.

For the British one, unless we go there and show how wonderful it is, and people go out there a buy the food, then we are going to end up with a problem: the farms will be gone, the scenery will be gone, the hedgerow will be gone. It takes a lot to produce food – anyone who's got an allotment will know and appreciate how bloody hard it is to grow carrots.

When I was training 35 years ago in France, we were frowned upon for our cuisine, and probably, rightly so. But now we’re up there in the mix with the top places in the world 

And you try growing carrots on a big scale, it’s really hard work, so you learn to respect food and those who produce it a lot more when you understand it more.

There’s no such thing as cheap good food, there’s good food, and if you don’t support the farmers there’s nobody there to take it on? Who’s going to buy a farm in the middle of Wales that gets down to -7 degrees, that only makes 10 quid a carcass? No one, and people only do it because it’s been in their family for six generations.

Chapel Down vineyard is one of the country's best wine – and now gin – producers

Which area surprised you most while on your journey around the UK?

I was amazed by Orkney (the first episode) and the stuff they're doing there. I'd wanted to go for ages. Everyone goes to Ireland, but they don't go south, so they should do that. I also knew about some people making feta and halloumi. Most of our halloumi comes from Cyprus, but it's all rubbery. This one is made in the UK with cow's milk and it's amazing.

How hard was it to choose a route around the UK, and is there anywhere you regret missing out?

There’s loads of places I wanted to go to, like Le Manoir (Oxford), we didn’t even touch Oxford, or touch Gloucestershire. People will be complaining as we didn't come to this, or go there, but the UK is a massive place. People look at it as a small island, so you can’t really do everything. We were filming in the middle of that heatweave last summer so we had amazing scenery everywhere.

I think lots of people will be disappointed we didn’t come onto their patch, but there’s going to be another series down in the pipeline, I’m sure.

Food in Britain has never been better, but do you think the world’s perception of British food is catching up?

I think we showed that it has when we went to France (for James Martin’s French Adventures) three years ago, and we interviewed Pierre Gagnaire and George Blancs and lots of the top French chefs who are at the top of their game that have a totally different perception of what British food is now.

I think as a nation, we need to understand and respect food a lot more than we do

When I was training 35 years ago in France, we were frowned upon for our cuisine, and probably, rightly so. But now we’re up there in the mix with the top places in the world and London is testament to that. There’s much more to us than the capital: Birmingham has the most Michelin stars outside of London, Yorkshire’s got more Michelin starred restaurants than any other county in Britain, there’s pockets of little hidden gems out there. There’s so many amazing cooks, producers, brewers, vineyard owners: it’s all about understanding what’s on our doorstep.

The TV series is all about championing British food, but did you plan it to come out about the same time as Brexit is scheduled to happen?

The series was in the making for about a few years, so it wasn’t really! It takes about a year and a half to do the book, a year to make the programme, it wasn’t just an instant thing you can knock up in six weeks. But as a farmers’s kid, I wanted to show my support for the amazing producers, growers and everyone else involved. I think as a nation, we need to understand and respect food a lot more than we do, and I think this will come out of this situation.

What has been the most important thing you’ve learned while working as a chef and presenter for the past 25 years?

As a presenter, it’s absolutely research, research, research and more research. Michael Parkinson taught me an amazing thing when I first got my job on Saturday Morning Kitchen, 14 years ago. He said make sure you do your research: if your guest has got a book, read it, if they’re in a film, watch it, and that was my key.

Even now, when I do the show at my house, I spend a lot of time researching. TV’s not a thing you can wing it.

After so many years presenting Saturday Kitchen, is there anything you miss from the show and how did you fill your Saturdays afterwards?

Not really, things move on. The viewing figures are different now to what they were 20 years ago. Everybody says back then they were higher, well of course they were as there was four channels and EastEnders used to get 22 million people – things change! I think it was the right time, I’d done 10 years, and that’s a long time to give up your Friday and Saturday nights as a chef and presenter. I’d be in the restaurant doing Friday lunch, then drive up and then I was back at the restaurant Saturday night.

We’re the only country in the world who eat what we want for 11 months of the year and then moan about it for a month

For the first time in about a year, I feel content in my life. I feel I don’t have anything to prove, and I just feel happy. In terms of everything – what I'm doing, where I'm going and what I’ve got.

Afterwards, I just went on holiday. I’d not been on holiday in about six years before then. When the show was on one day after I’d left, a friend text me and asked where I was, and I was in Disneyland!. I did the stuff everyone else does, going to my mum’s and walking the dog.

You grew up on a farm, but would you ever consider reducing you meat intake?

Veganism is only popular as the media keep going on about it! We don’t have enough produce in this country for everyone to be vegan. I’ve got no problem with vegan food, I cook it in the restaurant (and I cook meat) and there’s vegan recipes in the book. I respect all types of food.

We’re the only country in the world who eat what we want for 11 months of the year and then moan about it for a month. Why can’t we just enjoy food for what it is? Food is the pleasure of life! The Italians do it, the Spanish just enjoy food all year round. We must get laughed at every January. You might not be here tomorrow, so just enjoy it. I’m not going to live to 90 years old and just eat leeks. No. I enjoy my food, and get criticised for being too fat, but I don’t care.

But I totally respect everyone’s choice who do it, like I don’t smoke but if people want to, that’s fine.

The classic British mini looks right at home in the British countryside 

As we start to come out of winter, what’s your favourite things to cook at this time of year?

It’s all about the fish. Amazing seafood crab, lemon sole, plaice, obviously lamb – spring lamb from Scotland and Wales. But seafood is my big thing at the moment. Chefs go through different trends but we have some of the best seafood in the world here. There’s someone who’s just opened up in Lincolnshire producing fresh seawater farmed prawns, as most of the ones we get are from Madagascar, and these were the best I’d ever eaten. It’s great to look towards a new season, as we come out of winter with game and root vegetables.

You’ve done America, France and now Britain – where’s next?

I’ve got a meeting tomorrow about this actually, and if they want me to go again that is, but I don’t know! There’s lots of things that go on behind the scenes organised by people far cleverer than me who organise the programmes, and I just have an idea. So it’s up to them to see if it’s doable! I’d love to do another one in the UK, but then it’s up to ITV!

James Martin’s Great British Adventure' by James Martin is out now. See recipes from the book here

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