OUR FEATURE
ANTONY WORRALL THOMPSON, restaurateur and TV chef, lives in Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire with his wife Jay, their two children, two dogs and twelve pigs. The presenter of Daily Cooks Challenge and Saturday Cooks speaks to NICK DALTON about his celebrity crushes… and feuds.
If you were marooned on a desert island, what would you wish for?
I think I'd ask for livestock - a couple of pigs, male and female - some seed potatoes and a supply of good olive oil. That way I'd be able to keep growing potatoes and have my bacon, drying it off with some salt from the sea.
Is there anything you know you should like, but really hate?
Chefs always say: 'I love tripe' and I'm standing there thinking: 'No you don't, how can you?' I don't cook it very often on the show, and don't particularly want to, either. Oh, and I hate any milk puddings - rice pudding, semolina, tapioca. I can do crème brulèes and crème caramels, but I hate anything with hot milk.
Has cooking ever helped you with romance?
Absolutely! If you're a guy and you can cook, it's definitely one foot on the ladder. It's good that more and more men are doing it, and there's definitely something very sexy about food at the right time in the right place.
Who would you most like to cook for?
I've always had a fascination with Jodie Foster. Even though she's not the greatest beauty, there's something incredibly sexy about her. I love intelligent women, and the fact that she's done it in a man's world, both acting and directing, is really impressive.
What don't people know about you?
I was in Canterbury Cathedral Choir when I was young. I declined the X-Factor, but having seen other chefs do it, I think my voice would've been a damn sight better. Another thing people may not know is that I've kept pigs, middle whites, for 10 years. I'm patron of the Middle White Pig Breeders Club, in fact.
"The Ramsay thing is real
– I can't stand the man.”
Taking yourself and Ramsay as an example, are the rivalries we hear about between chefs always for real?
Most of them are fairly tongue-in-cheek but the Ramsay thing is definitely real. That said, he could come on the show one day and I'd happily make up with him. I just made up with Michael Winner! But until Ramsay realises he's a TV chef and stops knocking the rest of us TV chefs there's no point. I do think he's a fantastic chef, and I think his 'Kitchen Nightmare' programme is very good, but generally I can't stand the man.
Do your children feel the pressure to become good cooks?
I've got four kids - two in Australia, aged 22 and 20, and two in England who are 9 and 11. I don't force them into the cookery bit, but one of the 'Aussie boys' (as I call them!) has gone into catering. I'll give the two youngsters the occasional lesson, but I don't want to put them off. I'd rather make them good eaters and aware of good food than great cooks.
What's the most nerve-wracking thing about live telly?
I love live telly, I don't find it nerve-wracking at all. It's nerve-wracking for the first couple of episodes of a series, but I like the slick feel of it and when you do make mistakes, people tend to like it. There's a vulnerability there that makes people think: 'Well, if they can make mistakes then so can I!'
Who do you particularly enjoy working with?
Gino D'Acampo is a great laugh, and Merrilees Parker and Joe Pratt are always fantastic. I bonded really well with Oz Clarke and Linda Barker on Christmas Cooks.
What would you like to be remembered for?
I would like to be remembered for always saying it as it is and not worrying about upsetting people too much! I'd also like to be known as a champion of ingredients and a preserver of the countryside.