Spotlight on: james martin

epicure: You prepared a meal for Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, The Queen Mother, when you were just 11. ..
James Martin: Yes, I remember making her a crown of lamb with mint sauce from my Gran’s garden and a vacherin, which is a meringue swan with strawberries and ginger syrup ice cream. She never came back or paid but I think she enjoyed it!

That was very ambitious as a young child. How did you get started so young?
My father was the catering manager at the stately Castle Howard, a historic house and estate in Yorkshire. People like Luciano Pavarotti used to walk in all the time so I was unfazed by famous faces and had already learned the ropes of cooking at a young age.

You assumed the role of head chef at 21 in Hotel and Bistro Du Vin which you opened yourself. What did it take to risk so much at such a young age?
It was a big risk but I like stepping up to the plate in the face of a challenge. There are managers who give it their all at work but go home and leave their day at the door. As the owner and head chef, I didn’t have that luxury. I ate, breathed and slept the job and always found something I could improve on. I was never content with anything.

Tell us about your first forays into television after working with Antony Worall Thompson in 190 Queensgate and dell’Ugo .
I was spotted when I was 24 and still working at the Hotel and Bistro Du Vin. I had also trained with chefs like Antony Worall Thompson in 190 Queensgate and dell’Ugo restaurants and worked with Marco Pierre White. The 80s were a good time to be a chef in the U.K. Restaurants were really picking up pace,the public were more culinary aware and very receptive to food programmes on television. I was just lucky and fortunate because I didn’t want to do it at first. The crew just kept telling me to stand there and chop that and talk them through it as I went along. I think being honest helps too because viewers need to connect with someone they can relate to.

Which is your favourite TV series?
Saturday Kitchen where I cook and interview a celebrity at the same time. It was the show I took on about four and a half years ago and it has drawn over three and a half million viewers. It’s tough keeping it all together while having to multi-task in front of a live audience but I guess that’s what keeps it so fun. I am working on a new series for the BBC on hospital food now so stay tuned for more.

Another series, Sweet Baby James, was inspired by your culinary past. How did Castle Howard influence your take on desserts?
Everybody’s got a history. I was brought up on a farmhouse where dinners were always proper Northern food and nothing came out of a packet. I was influenced to go back and speak to my old cookery lecturer and recreate that sort of rustic, back to basics food for an audience. During that time, people in the U.K. were going through a dietary food phase and there I was on screen, putting butter and cream on everything! But it struck a chord with people because they saw that you could still enjoy desserts made with pure ingredients without tipping the scales.

You worked in France for a while too. How did cooking with matriarchs in the old châteaux change you?
It was possibly the best and most influential time of my life. People say a lot about French food but it is an experience that as a chef you must do. Newer culinary techniques from London and Spain are all well and good but French cooking is very special. The French are very precise and true to their traditions; there’s only one way to make coq au vin or beef bourguignon and you don’t mess around with it. No onions, bacon, cream or milk? They won’t use any substitutes. It’s a little rigid but there’s a method to the madness.

You opened The Leeds Kitchen in April. Do you find that was born because you missed the buzz of being in a restaurant?
Not really, the opportunity came about and I took it because I felt I wasn’t getting any younger. I’ve been offered to open two or three restaurants every week for the last eight years and something about this one at the Alea Casino just felt right, it’s a place where I can input personal touches and hold private events. It’s like someone whispered to me, “Now is the time.”

We met Antony Worrall Thompson earlier this year who said that being a TV chef for so long “took his eye off the game”. Do you ever feel the same way?
I’m still at a place where I can balance my TV work and my one restaurant. I wouldn’t open another five establishments because I know that could jeopardise my career. This industry can be surrounded by people who say yes all the time but I work with staff who knew me before television and will have no problems telling me if I am doing something wrong. They keep me grounded and that definitely helps in the big scheme of things.

There’s been a recent renaissance of British dining. Do you think there’s still a space on the haute dining table for classics like spotted dick and black pudding?
Absolutely, they are emerging in the U.K. right now at places like Roast (right above Borough Market) and Pollen Street Social, places that know there will always be a place for the classics. Pollen’s menu has a Full English Breakfast which is a downsized interpretation of the English staple, as well as other refined dishes that pay tribute to our culture and heritage.

Tell us about your new website: Life, Fork and Spoon.
It got launched while I was on the plane to Singapore. It’s something I have been working on for the past eight months, with Martyn Thomas and Kevin Morel, both of whom have worked for the Roux brothers and in three-Michelin starred restaurants. Their expertise is in the manufacturing process of food and I brought in the recipes and ideas. Together we set up a website that delivers delicious gourmet meals to any address in London within 24 hours.

5 things you didn’t know about James Martin:

My biggest passion apart from cooking:
vintage cars.

My worst experience in the kitchen:
I burned 600 portions of apple tarts once by getting degree Celsius and Farenheit mixed up. I got in serious trouble for that one.

What you don’t see behind the camera sets:
The mess behind the Saturday Kitchen set. I have all the equipment laid out under my bench because once the camera rolls, I can’t ask or shout for anything. Everything is stocked there but you’ll only see the pretty laid out bowls of mise en place.

Not many people know:
I came in fourth in Strictly Come Dancing. I can only say that it wasn’t my idea and I expected to be eliminated in the first week. I was still there 16 weeks later.

The place I love to frequent in England that you are least likely to read about in the paper:
Pizza Express. Ok so it doesn’t serve the best pizzas in London but there’s something in the air that makes me feel very at home there.

Catch James Martin Digs Deep every Sunday at 8pm throughout September, and Saturday Kitchen every Saturday at 9.50am in October on BBC Lifestyle, StarHub Channel 432.