Telly chef Matt Tebbutt is headlining the Sunday (July 7) of the Manchester Eats Festival at Heaton Park. He currently fronts BBC’s Saturday Kitchen and has also recently fronted Food Unwrapped on Channel 4. After growing up in South Wales he worked in a variety of top kitchens, including the Oak Room under Marco Pierre White – who also appears at the festival – before running the award-winning Foxhunter Inn near Abergavenny for 15 years. We asked Matt a few questions about what makes him tick…
What impressed you about the Manchester Eats Festival that made you want to come up?
The venue is beautiful... the Manchester vibe is always second to none and the producers in the region are world class.
What are you cooking for your fans on the day?
I’m doing a summer minestrone with delicious fresh crab and an oriental peanut dish using turkey as an alternative, because it gets a bad rap and needs a hand.
What’s it like to be on the same line up as your old mentor, Marco Pierre White? Is he the greatest chef you’ve ever worked with? Your cv includes the likes of the influential Alastair Little, Sally Clarke and Bruce Poole.
It’s kind of nerve-racking to be honest, and amazing at the same time. All those years ago I would never have expected to be on the same bill as my boss. I’ve worked for lots of fantastic chefs and they are all different and offer differing approaches to food.
Like Marco way back, you have stepped back from the restaurant stove. Do you see yourself going back or is the telly career more rewarding – and less stressful?
I love the change of tack. TV came out the blue and became a fantastic monster that took over ...I absolutely love it and the people who work in it. It’s stressful in other ways but oh so rewarding.
Is The Foxhunter pub in your adopted Wales you ran for 15 years merely on hold or do you feel you have moved on?
I’ve totally moved on… it was great for so many years but it’s a relentless lifestyle that takes over. It’s been a stepping stone to what I have now and I’m very grateful. I look back with fond memories but I’m moving forward.
What got you into cooking before all those restaurant kitchens you passed through? Was it a family obsession? Did you cook as a boy?
I’ve always loved food and used to play around at home but the growth of restaurants in London during the Nineties sealed the deal… the buzz, the excitement and a copy of ‘White Heat, Marco’s book, was the driving force. Suddenly cooking was cool and that’s where I wanted to go.
Who have been your favourite guests on Saturday Kitchen? Who are the telly naturals?
Cooking live on telly isn’t for everyone and just because you’re good at cooking doesn’t Factor if you will; it’s there or it’s not.
And what has been your greatest blooper on that show or any of the others you have fronted?
I called a famous chef a f***ing genius under my breath without thinking, but it came from a good place at least! Fortunately only one person on that hateful Twitter caught it – the joys of instant social media! The trouble with being too relaxed in front of the camera is that normal kitchen speak can slip out. I’ve learned my lesson since and have a little word with myself before I go on these days ! It’s not a good thing to do. People, kids, all sorts of age groups tune in and it’s only right you show them respect by not swearing.
What young chefs you have met on the show have impressed you as the future stars? And will the industry they work in have ditched ‘fine dining’ for more casual?
We generally have the established guys on the show, but on the whole yes. Fine dining is on the slide. At least for now. People want to eat more socially these days and the stuffy uptight restaurant scene is thankfully over. So many guys are producing such great food from pop ups, food trucks, 10 seater restaurants etc. I love it. It’s the true expression of what food should be – available to the many, not the elite.
We know you’re very passionate about British cuisine. What are the dishes you like best to cook – and to eat?
I love offal – not everyone’s choice – lamb, mutton, all the seafood we produce around the coast. We have amazing smokeries, world beating produce in general. Even the tomatoes we grow in some regions rival the sun soaked ones from Italy. And now we produce sparkling wine to beat the French. We are so lucky and as a whole, we need to appreciate our island more and everyone who works to feed us in some form.
What’s your opinion of the fad for clean eating/self-medicating with super foods?
I think it’s a load of old toss! Eat well, eat properly, eat balanced and eat food that feeds your soul. That’s what we need.
If I turned up in Heaton Park with jars of fennel pollen, black garlic or kimchi, would you use them in your demos?
Absolutely… love all of them.
How well do you know Manchester? Are you into the music or the football? The beers? Above all what impresses you about its current food and drink scene?
Sorry, bI don’t know Manchester that well...obviously other than the massive music industry it holds that was the soundtrack to my Nineties. The best Chinese restaurants in the entire country. There’s a couple of football teams I think, but that’s not really my thing. Ask Simon Rimmer! I’ve tried a lot of local beer out boozing in town a few nights but am always too drunk to remember them. It’s a party town with party people looking to enjoy life – that’s what I always take away from Manchester.
Manchester Eats Festival (July 7-8) Heaton Park, Middleton Rd, Manchester M25 2SW. On Sunday, July 8 Matt will be doing two demos at 12.30 pm and 3.50pm plus a Q and A with Taste of Manchester podcaster Matty White at 2.10pm.