Antony Worrall Thompson, the renowned British celebrity chef is no stranger to our TV screens. He has launched several successful restaurants, all of which reflect his somewhat 'individual' approach to food. He was a cook on BBC2’s Food and Drink, Ready Steady Cook, since 1994 as well as presenting other cookery programme and in 2003, he appeared in the second series of I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!
Did being in the “I’m a celebrity...” jungle with so many youngsters re-assess your outlook on life at all?
I’ve always been young at heart anyway. What it did change was my respect for strangers as I hadn’t met half the people who did it. It made me slightly more open definitely – when you’re stripped bare of all your worldly goods and you’re in the same clothes as everyone else it does act as a leveler.
Would you say that was one of the highlights of your career?
On the TV front it was definitely. On the culinary front it would have to be the accolade of Meilleur Ouvrier de Grande Bretagne [the chef’s Oscar].
So are there any other milestones you would like to achieve in your career?
Oh yes I want to be prime minister! I think I’ve achieved a lot anyway but it’s always nice to leave a legacy – I wouldn’t mind doing some politics or something like that.
What kind of differences do you see in cooking today compared to when you started?
It’s much better and much more relaxed. In the early days it was very strict - you wouldn’t have even dreamt of walking up to the head chef and talking to him – he was much more god like than even Gordon Ramsey or Jamie Oliver. Working in a kitchen was much more structured – there were Chef de Partis who had been on the same fish section for 10 – 15 years, but nowadays everyone wants to be a head chef at 23 or 24 years old. In those days you learnt so slowly and you just had to build up respect and get up the ladder.
So no plans to open at hotel to see you into retirement?
Well no, but I might open a restaurant which would be more like a hobby. I know you can’t really have a restaurant as a hobby, but something that would be open Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday lunch would be nice to keep me hand in. I could have two or three staff working for me, keeping it to a small operation. I always liked doing my restaurant called Woz which was like coming to a dinner party.
How do you continue to find culinary inspiration at this point in your career?
I eat out a reasonable amount and I read a hell of a lot! I’ve got about 4000 cookbooks and I’m always looking for new ideas. I’m like a little magpie as any chef is and pick up inspiration from everywhere – eating out, what I see in books, traveling and those sorts of things which make you think “if I put that in there I could make this better” and so on.
Which country’s cuisine is your favourite?
To eat it would be Japanese apart from a Sunday Roast, I do like the odd roast! To cook it would be Italian – country Italian not poncey Italian!
Who do you currently admire in the world of cooking?
On the TV front I’m a fan of Rick Stein, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Jamie Oliver and in real life cooking terms Michel Roux at The Waterside Inn and Heston Blumenthal at the Fat Duck (both in Bray).
Diet is important throughout your whole life but what tips can you give to the older generation?
Eating a balanced diet is paramount – this whole thing about the older generation cutting back when they get rickety is crazy because if you eat a balanced diet you don’t get rickety! A variety of vegetables and fish added to sweet stuff and carbohydrates will give people all the nutrients they need. You just have to be sensible about balancing food with exercise too.
What projects are in store for you in the future?
Well I’ve got the point now where I don’t really mind what happens next. Whatever comes my way I’ll take the challenge! I’ll be keeping the restaurants going, Daily Cooks is doing really well on TV for six days a week including Saturday Cooks, I’m doing quite a bit for UK Food and I’ve got The People’s Cookbook which is a show based on family heritage dishes. I’m writing more books and doing a lot for people with diabetes
Is there much time for anything else in your life?
I play a bit of tennis and see the kids. I am chocca right through to the end of June now. Maybe I have got too much on my plate….my wife keeps telling me to cut back but I am a bit of a workaholic!
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