James Martin has been broadcasting for 20 years and has become a staple of weekend television as the host of ‘Saturday Kitchen’, but he’s now hitting the road to visit as much of the UK as possible in an extravaganza called ‘Plates, Mates and Automobiles’. The famed chef and notorious petrolhead spoke to Your Move about his upcoming show in Liverpool, cooking and a love of motors that has seen him amass a collection of vintage road and race cars.

Interview by Nick Hughes

What is the tour about and what can the audience expect at the show?

The unexpected more than anything else, it’s been a tremendous amount of work over the last three months. It’s not just a mollycoddled mix of recipes and it’s not a cooking demonstration either, it’s a show. We’ve got the right people who are going to make it who know how to put on a performance. There’s a lot of post-production that’s gone into it, the set looks amazing and the videos look great.

I’ve pulled in a lot of favours from my mates. We’ve got one of the biggest comedians doing the voice-over and we’ve got 50 of the biggest names in food and racing taking part at the end – Formula One (F1) drivers, ex-F1 World Champions, and Mary Berry. You’re not going to have seen anything like this before.

What made you want to go on the road?

The timing was right, really. For 20 years I’ve been doing this for a living and it’s a celebration of everything I’ve learned and all my friends that I’ve met along the journey. I don’t have to do it, I’m not doing it to promote a book, I’m not doing it to promote an album – I’m just doing it because I thought ‘why not?’

Why Liverpool? What’s drawn you here?

I’ve just been offered a restaurant in Liverpool so one of the reasons is that I’m going is to be looking at the site beforehand. They’re very receptive in that neck of the woods, I’ve done food festivals over there in Liverpool and in Manchester which have been great to me, and I’m looking forward to coming over and seeing everybody.

The only chance you get to see this stuff is at food festivals and those bits and pieces. This is different, this is ‘an evening with’ – it’s the biggest thing I’ve ever done and that’s the reason why; I’m going to places where I admire and where I like.

You say the tour is now a big step for you; is it all about shaking things up?

Yes, life’s about shaking things up and trying new things but life’s also about pushing boundaries and not sitting on your laurels. This is a prime example of that, this is something that’s scary but also equally exciting and I’m really looking forward to it. There are elements of the show that I’ve been rehearsing for two and half hours everyday for the tour and the bit only lasts eight minutes. I’ve been working my backside off for this and it’d better work.

You’ve written books on restaurant food and comfort food. Do you have a preference?

I just cook the food I like. I try not to follow trends and I try not to follow what everybody else does, but that’s not to say that I go in the opposite direction – you just do your own thing and believe in yourself. I equate it to a successful band; they do what they do, they don’t deviate from it and follow trends. I think that’s the same thing in what I try – you set your stall out and say ‘that’s the direction I’m going in’ and that’s it.

“I’ve just been offered a restaurant in Liverpool. I’ve done food festivals there which have been great to me, and I’m looking forward to coming over and seeing everybody.”

On Saturday Kitchen you ask celebrity guests what their food hell is; why is horseradish yours?

It’s the food of the devil. It’s horrific, why have a perfectly nice piece of beef and Yorkshire pudding and ruin it by putting this all over it?

You’re a well-known petrolhead. Do you remember what started it?

I bought a Mini on the exchange market for £15. I suppose on the farm though it was a 1960-odd Massey Ferguson tractor which is really what started my love of engines and things, and it grew from there.

You own a lot of classic cars, is there something you look for when buying them?

Recently I bought Keith Floyd’s old Citroën 2CV from his daughter and I like an eclectic mix, so there are F1 cars and Ferraris to Minis and Keith Floyd’s 2CV. I like it because I like the stories that come with them as well.

[The 2CV] does smell a bit like Oddbins inside, it’s got a distinct smell inside it.

You took part in the BBC’s Racing Legends programme. Is that an area you’d like to return to?

Yes, I’d like to. I really enjoyed that with Sir Jackie Stewart and he is a legend. Recently, we did a series for Home Comforts where we had Sir Stirling Moss down at my house too. They’re legends in their field and we can learn a lot from them – they’re great talkers and great people as well.

Fundamentally, driving Jackie Stewart’s Tyrrell (former championship-winning F1 team) car around Monza for 56 laps, who isn’t going to say yes to that? It’s mega but you also think ‘I don’t want to make an idiot of myself’ because A – you don’t want to stall it, and B – you don’t want to spin off; you have to get on it to keep the tyres warm.

It was an amazing opportunity and it’s once in a lifetime – you’re never going to get a chance like this again and when it comes up you’ve got to say ‘do you know what, I’ve got to give that a shot’ because it’ll be amazing. It was great fun and a great journey.

Would there be a way of combining a road trip with cooking in the future?

Well I did the Mille Miglia last year but it’s a subject that you’ve got to approach people over and go ‘this can be amazing’, but you’re either a car person or you’re not and people don’t seem to get it. That’s why there aren’t many car shows out there.

It’s sad in a way that there aren’t more but I wouldn’t want to do a classic one where you’re saying ‘here’s the sprocket of a 1948 Maserati A6 Monfaro and isn’t this wonderful?’ – you don’t want to be doing that. The magic of the event is enough to film it.

I’ve thought about it and now I’ve got Keith Floyd’s car I’d like to go back to France and do something there but we’ll see.

 

James will be at the Liverpool Philharmonic on 12 March