Ainsley Harriott came to West Cumbria where he performed Cookery demonstrations during The Whitehaven Food Festival on the 8th & 9th August alongside other celebrity Chefs Jean Christophe Novelli and local Chefs Ricky from Zest and Narul.
I caught up with Ainsley for a chat and to find out more about one of Britain's favourite celebrity chefs.
Straight away he is in full on Ainsley mode, laughing and talking as he does on camera which to be fair is a little odd as he is known to be outlandish and funny but you just don't expect him to be the same on the phone. It's not an act he is full on all the time.
How long have you been in the business?
I am 52 now and started college at Westminster Catering College when I was 17, wow it has been a long time, thirty-five years so far.
You are coming to Whitehaven Food Festival to do the cookery demonstrations do you do these all year round.
No, I just do the festivals every now and then; its always-good fun and I always get to work alongside and meet up with old friends who I have worked with over the years.
You where in a band The Calypso Twins and doing comedy at the comedy store would you have preferred to have chosen comedy/ music over cooking.
No, the music thing was a great way to subsidise my income, I would finish the service then run down to do a gig, half an hour in Covent garden would pay me more money than two and a half weeks cooking.
I loved the comedy and music though; The Calypso Twins consisted of me and my mate Charlie, ones black and ones white.
We had a reunion recently 30 years of the Comedy Store. The amazing thing is that so many of the people there are responsible for what comedy is today.
The likes of Eddie Izzard, Paul Merton, Ben Elton and loads more where there in Leicester square and it is great to be associated with that.
So you wouldn't have ditched Food for Comedy.
No way, my love for food and cooking is the priority, I love my job, I have worked all over the world and cooked for the likes of Elton John and others and they really know how to party.
I don't own any restaurants, I have my own client base and my own food range which gives me so much pleasure in fact just the other day I was in the supermarket and saw a woman picking up some of my stuff from the shelf, and I was chuffed, its great.'
You have a new Cookery Book coming out soon Just Five Ingredients how did that come about.
Well it was my wife's idea actually, we do a lot of cooking together, and she is always saying why always get this and get that and what you do need you never have, so this is looking at cooking with a different mind set, keep it simple and she is delighted with it. In fact, we have just sold a stack of them at the Good Food Show. ( no wonder he cant stop laughing).
Just Five ingredients will be available from all good bookshops and on line.
What are you plans for the rest of the year then?
Well I am back in the studio in August working on Ready Steady Cook and will be on a Book Tour as well so I am going to be busy.
Who do you like working with the most?
‘Jamey Oliver and James Martin are two really great lads and each offers something totally different and each has flare and personality. Personally, I want people to relax at home and enjoy the shows and pick something up and enjoy cooking.'
Do you ever watch other cookery programmes like Hells Kitchen?
No, I don't like bullying tactics at all, I have ran kitchens and everyone's got great skill in some it just needs coaxed out of them, with the right approach you can get so much more out of someone.'
Why cookery?
My mum was a great cook and my dad was in show business so we had lots of dinner parties which where brilliant, with so many dinner parties I got involved from a very young age, the whole family got involved, my sister is head of Department at a Food Tech College. When I was 16 I spent six weeks on the isle d'ray for a French family, when I came back that was it I was hooked.
What is your favourite dish?
‘I think its comfort food, you know food that brings you back to your childhood, for me it would be Red bean stew and other dishes my mum would make, family food, those are what you love.'
When someone sends something back how do you react?
‘It doesn't happen; when you are trained properly you know when something is right and when something is ready.'
You have been involved with ready steady cook for years how did that come about.
‘I actually filmed the original pilot, I was working in the states, fern Britton left and I have hosted it since 2000, left and I came back and landed the job.
We will be filming the 2000th show, its worked a treat and the real beauty is to keep it going, long may it last.'
Ainsley appeared in Who Do You Think You Are the programme that traces your family history, Ainsley was in for a surprise.
‘That show was fantastic, I was totally unprepared for what lay ahead.
I found out that my Great- great- great grandmother on my mothers side was a slave and my Great, great, great grandfather on my fathers side was a Scottish slave owner.'
What tips would you give to youngsters or parents to encourage them in to cookery?
I think keeping it simple is the best way forward, don't complicate things, let them know they can cook, if you just teach them the basics they will really enjoy it and its also fun cooking with your kids.'
