S12 Ep8: James Martin: one of Britain's best-loved chefs and King of Saturday morning television

Oct 29, 2021

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For the season finale my guest is James Martin.

James has been a mainstay on our tv screens since the mid 1990’s. It’s safe to say that Saturday mornings wouldn’t be the same without him with his hugely popular shows on the BBC’s Saturday Kitchen and now Saturday Mornings with James Martin on ITV.

He appeared on the Big Breakfast but it was arguably his role on Ready Steady Cook – a show that changed food television - that catapulted him to the kind of fame usually reserved for boy bands. At it’s peak 15 million people were tuning in to watch the show on Friday evenings and Martin with his trademark bandana and youthful good looks was a firm fan favourite.

But this was not a story of overnight success. It was built on years of hard work and perfecting his craft. James grew up on a farm in North Yorkshire where hard graft was a part of daily life from a young age. At the age of 8 he was working in restaurants and by the time he was 12 he had a catering company catering weddings. It’s no surprise then that by the age of 21 he achieved the covetable role of head chef at Hotel and Bistro du Vin in Winchester.

Alongside this, he’s written countless cook books, he’s set up a cookery school, run restaurants all over the world, gained his pilots license and has an envy inducing collection of vintage cars. He Recently won the Fortnum & Mason 2021 Personality of the Year, as voted for by the public

When James Martin was just seven he told his family he would be a head chef by the age of 30, drive a Ferrari when he was 35 and own his own restaurant by 40.

And whilst his “grandad told him to be quiet and get a proper bleedin’ job,” as it turned out, he made head chef at 21, bought a Ferrari three years later and opened his own bistro on a cruise ship when he was 26.

James has said, “Those dreams were odd then,” “It was a bit like Billy Elliot – unheard of. “But I knew that was what I wanted to do and that was that.”

Thank you to Bordeaux Wines for sponsoring this episode of Desert Island Dishes with James Martin. Don't forget to head over to social media where you can find out more by following Bordeaux Wines @bordeauxwinesuk

Thank you to our season sponsor Cooks Matches for helping us to bring the podcast to you for the last 8 weeks. Find them on Instagram @cooksmatches and head to their website www.cooksmatches.co.uk to find out more.

Thank you for listening! We will be back soon with another season I promise.

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