Good Food Blog
My Life on a Plate: James Martin
Posted at 12:02PM, 30 November 2011 by Roxanne Fisher - Writer/Sub-editor, bbcgoodfood.com
My earliest food memory would be bacon sandwiches from my grandmother, made with tomatoes from my grandfather's allotment from when I was five or six.
The first thing I ever cooked was Sunday lunch with my mum and grandma. To this day my mum still makes better gravy than me.
There isn't such a thing as cheap good food. There's cheap food and there's good food. Like anything in life, you get what you pay for.
Running my own kitchen, when it goes well is great. When it goes wrong, it's not so great. But for me it's all about working with a team of chefs and helping young guys follow their dreams as other people did for me when I was young and starting out.
The job I hate most in the kitchen is the washing up - but I think that most chefs do. It's where I started out and I think I've washed up more than enough in my life now.
My most memorable meal would have to be a pizza I had in Naples - it inspired me to buy my own authentic pizza oven
My most memorable meal would have to be the pizza I had in a restaurant in Naples during the filming of my new TV series for the Good Food Channel, made by an 80 year-old bloke. It inspired me to buy my own authentic pizza oven and have it installed at home. It was also good to see the wonderful range of food and ingredients on offer across the Mediterranean. Valencia was particularly memorable for its almonds, paella and oranges.
Most-thumbed cookbook is probably Elizabeth David's - English Cookery. It's a classic that will never age.
My guilty food pleasure is Red Bull for breakfast - I never have time for anything else. And a large bar of Dairy Milk chocolate in the fridge at all times. It's the best chocolate!
My biggest influence is my mother. She calls me every day - twice a day if I've done something wrong! Mums are the one person in your life who you should listen to, as she'll be the one person that's brutally honest.
The weirdest thing I've eaten is baby camel cooked in the ground for nine hours when I was in the UAE (United Arab Emirates). It was disgusting and it wouldn't have made a difference if it had been in the ground for 18 hours.
I haven't had a food dream but my Clumber Spaniel Fudge has them all the time. He generally wakes up in the morning by gnawing his back leg. In fact, I think he wakes himself up by gnawing it so much!
My new TV series, James Martin's Mediterranean is about to be shown on the Good Food Channel from Sunday. I also have a magazine coming out in branches of WH Smiths and I'm working on my business, Knife, Fork and Spoon, which provides people with ready-made meals at home.
James Martin's Mediterranean is new and exclusive to Good Food, Sunday - Thursday at 9pm from 20th November (Sky / HD 249, Virgin 260)
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