Celebrity chef James Martin sacrificed a lot to get to where he is now, but he’d do it all again if given the chance.
He’s not one to talk about his private life. When he does, people listen.
At various points, the North Yorkshire-born TV presenter has opened up about his “horrific” cancer battle, which describes as six years of “hell”; his up-again, down-again relationship with his father; and the way he copes with OCD, a condition he reckons “most chefs have”.
Once, he divulged some juicy tidbits about a date-gone-wrong, three decades ago. So, what happened?
James Martin once made coq au vin with KFC and ‘manky bacon’ on a date
And no, she did not call him back…
30 years ago, James Martin had a hot date. He was working as a pastry chef, and finished later than expected. He had promised to cook, but didn’t have time to get the ingredients in.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” he said. He was regaling Samuel Goldsmith of the BBC’s Good Food podcast, back in October 2024. All he could find at the shops was some mushrooms and “manky” bacon.
So, what did he do?
“I got a KFC, took the skin off it and did my version of Coq au vin with KFC.”
Kentucky Fried Chicken is James Martin’s biggest guilty pleasure. No, really. He hankers for it so regularly, he said, that he has to send his chefs into the shop to get it.
“They clock me straight away, now,” he said. “That and fish and chips.”
Fish and chips are his ultimate comfort food. So, what about that date?
“Yeah, it didn’t last very long that after that,” James admitted, reflecting on the split. “But yeah that was that!”
The TV chef was ‘working’ as a pot washer at eight years old
During his conversation on the Good Food podcast, James also spoke briefly about his upbringing.
He was born in Malton, in the North Riding of Yorkshire. His family were tenant pig farmers on the Castle Howard estate.
As young as eight years old, he was washing pots in the kitchen there for pocket money.
Two years later, he was buttering bread for the sandwiches in the cafe.
A lot of chefs start out like that, he says. Pot washing, or helping out in some menial capacity in the kitchen.
It ignites a flame, and one thing leads to another. It certainly did in his case!
Watch James Martin’s Saturday Morning on Saturdays at 9:30am on ITV1.
