Tom Kerridge, the celebrated chef behind The Hand & Flowers-the only pub globally to hold two Michelin stars-has built an impressive culinary and media career from humble beginnings on a Gloucester council estate. Now 53, Kerridge oversees six pubs and restaurants alongside a thriving presence on television.
His initial foray onto the small screen came in 2010 when he was invited to participate in the BBC’s long-running cooking competition, The Great British Menu. The programme features some of the UK’s finest chefs competing to prepare a course for a prestigious banquet. Esteemed chefs such as Marcus Wareing, Simon Rimmer, and the late Gary Rhodes have all taken part.
Despite his culinary accolades, Kerridge was hesitant to accept the show’s invitation. It was his wife, sculptor Beth Cullen-Kerridge, who offered him some straightforward counsel that helped him make his decision. Speaking on the Full Disclosure podcast with James O’Brien, Kerridge shared, “Telly was an accident. A happy accident. Great British Menu came and asked if we would compete. I didn’t realise then but it’s a cookery competition and it’s so significant, it’s amazing.”
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He continued, “I spoke to Beth about it and said, ‘what do you think we should do?’ It advertises your business, it’s amazing. The worst that can happen is you come across really bad. She said ‘don’t be a d***.'”
Tom and Beth met at a London birthday party in 1997, and within six weeks, Beth proposed marriage. They wed in 2000 and have a ten-year-old son, Acey.
Kerridge’s upbringing was marked by adversity; raised on council estates after his parents divorced when he was 11, he credits his mother’s resilience-working multiple jobs including washing dishes in a pub-for shaping his values. This background has also made him a vocal supporter of free school meal initiatives, emphasising the role of good nutrition in education.
He reflected on how his Michelin star win helped spotlight his pub and led to the television opportunity. “What I’ll do is I’ll try and work out what they want and I’ll cook well. I was quite lucky. I cooked and I won the main course, which was brilliant because it just made the phone ring like bananas. It was unbelievable. The reaction and impact of that TV show and the business was phenomenal,” Kerridge said.
Fans can catch Tom Kerridge on Celebrity MasterChef tonight, Friday 28 August, from 8pm to 9pm on BBC One.