Since those heady days, Tom – with his wife Beth Cullen-Kerridge – has opened a second pub, The Coach, also in Marlow, as well as The Butcher’s Tap. He’s a regular on our TV screens, appearing in everything gastro-minded, from Great British Menu to Saturday Kitchen, as well as presenting various BBC series, from How To Lose Weight For Good and Bake Off: Crème de la Crème to the still-running Food and Drink.
He is, for a Michelin-starred chef, decidedly simple in his tastes, deliberately eschewing many of the fripperies associated with fine dining. His best-known dish is a pig roast, with the belly cooked in a bain-marie and served with pig’s trotter. This is, then, unpretentious and hearty fare, for which he is beloved: he has been named chef of the year at the AA Hospitality Awards, as well as by GQ.
Here, he tells us how one Instagram post sparked a national debate during lockdown and why he’s never, ever disconnected.
My favourite website...
Has to be CollectingCars.com. I have a passion for cars, both owning them and watching them race.
My favourite app...
Instagram.
My Internet hero...
Joe Wicks – what a superstar!
My favourite podcast...
That Peter Crouch podcast – always makes me laugh.
My most recent buy online...
Gym kit/dumbbells. I didn’t want to get caught out in Lockdown 2.0 with no gym equipment.
Last book you downloaded or read...
Peter Crouch – How to be a Footballer. I like to listen to books in the car when driving to my restaurant in Manchester.
Favourite tweeter...
Gary Usher, aka @StickyWalnut. He never shies away from saying exactly what he thinks.
Favourite Instagrammer...
Formula 1 – goes back to my love of cars.
Favourite tech gadget...
My iPhone.
The most useful gadget/item on your desk...
My iPad.
Most useful digital resource during lockdown...
Twitter – it’s a form of information for news, business and industry, as well as light-hearted escapism.
Most inspirational digital resource during lockdown...
BBC News – it kept me up to date on what was going on.
First thing/app you look at on your mobile when you wake up/in the morning...
Always Twitter.
Last thing you binge-watched...
Ozark during lockdown one.
Favourite brands have you discovered online...
Mr. Porter.
Social media allowed me to meet...
Everyone, no matter where they are.
The best digital advice I've been given...
Don’t take it too seriously – none of it is actually real.
My screensaver is...
My son sitting in Lewis Hamilton’s racing car.
My standout online memory...
Instagramming a picture of Gerard Butler in The 300 at the end of lockdown one when 25 per cent of booked covers failed to show. That ended up creating a national debate about restaurant bookings.
My pet online hate is...
Angry people, getting angry over nothing.
Do you have any online rules or resolutions?
No rules or restrictions, hospitality is a 24-hour industry – and that includes being online.
The Internet. On balance, a force for good or ill?
Most definitely for good. Connects people, educates, enlightens and is here to stay so we need to embrace it.
By Nancy Alsop
December 2020
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