This year, why not make a meal with, rather than for, that special someone? That’s the message BALANCE took when we sat down with Tom Kerridge to talk about his new book and TV show, Fresh Start. The beloved chef is positively fizzing with romantic foodie insight. After all, even the process of creating a meal can be more tender than you realise.

“Cooking is a very tactile, loving thing to do,” Kerridge, 45, explains. “It takes in a lot of the senses: taste, smell and feel. There are a lot of processes to go through together, right from shopping for raw ingredients, to creating together and actually sitting down to eat.

“Food is soul-sensitive. It’s not just fuel for surviving – it can be so much more. If you’re cooking with someone, it’s a very nice thing to do.”

TIME FOR A RETHINK

“Some dishes in Fresh Start are simple and easy to do,” the likeable son of Salisbury adds, “while others take a bit of time. But that might be while it’s in the oven. Use that time to be with each other. Food is a special space, and these recipes are fail-safe, everything a recipe should be.”

With so many Londoners using the term ‘time poor’, cooking a meal from scratch can feel like an unattainable luxury, but Kerridge is keen to change such a mindset. “Being time poor is one thing. Time management is another altogether.

“People say they don’t have time to cook, but they’ll stay up to 1am watching ‘just one more episode’ on Netflix, when you could have used Wednesday evening to prepare a load of dishes for the freezer.”

A WORTHY TITLE

Kerridge’s road to becoming one of Britain’s best-loved chefs has been well-documented. His relatability, as a normal bloke who happens to be an exceptional cook, has helped make him a popular figure, and it’s why Fresh Start is the perfect title: if everyman Tom can make a fresh start, anyone can.

Tom is food’s hottest ticket, so will we lose him to a megabucks deal abroad? “There are people who would like us to do more overseas – agents, TV companies and publishers – but it has to feel like the right reason, or else I’d resent it. I have no desire to take over the world as a global TV star, but I say yes to pretty much everything. I don’t want to get to 70 and say, ‘Remember when we were offered a three-week tour of Australia and said no? Why did we say no?’

“I like the idea of saying, ‘Let’s f*cking do it!’ So it’s finding the time. If it comes along and it’s fun, we can dominate the world with a smile.”