Birthday: 27 July 1973
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Undeniably one of the UK’s most popular chefs, Tom Kerridge’s rise to the top of the British dining scene has seen him become a household name. Holder of three Michelin stars, Kerridge has seen success not just in his multiple restaurants but also has written a number of cookbooks, as well as hosting various popular cookery shows.
Having started cooking at a young age, Kerridge briefly flirted with the idea of becoming an actor before deciding that the kitchen was where he really wanted to be working. After attending catering college, he began cooking under a number of notable chefs including Gary Rhodes, before achieving the position of head chef for the first time in 2001 at Bellamy’s Dining Room.
Kerridge opened his first restaurant in 2005 - a gastropub in the beautiful Buckinghamshire town of Marlow called The Hand & Flowers. The pub quickly began to win plaudits from the public and critics alike for its deceptively simple food which focused on using the finest British produce, and won its first Michelin star just a year after opening. Six years later, The Hand & Flowers gained a rare second Michelin star, making it the first pub to ever achieve this rating - something which is still yet to be equalled to this day.
This success led Kerridge to open another smaller gastropub in Marlow called The Coach, which itself went on to gain a Michelin star, as well as a more casual butcher and pub also in the town centre named The Butcher’s Tap. In 2018 he added his first London restaurant to his collection, opening Kerridge’s Bar & Grill at the Corinthia Hotel in Westminster.
While continuing to oversee his various restaurants, Kerridge has also become a regular face on TV programmes such as Great British Menu and Saturday Kitchen, as well as hosting his own shows including the BBC’s Tom Kerridge’s Proper Pub Food. After losing 12 stone in weight, Kerridge also hosted a TV show and released a number of books about the benefits of healthy eating and fitness.
Arguably the archetypal ‘people’s chef’, Tom Kerridge continues to be loved by the nation for all elements of his work.