Tom Kerridge has admitted he has an allergy to shellfish. (Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Celebrity chef Tom Kerridge has confessed that he suffers from a severe shellfish allergy, which causes him to “instantly pukes” if he consumes it.
Despite this, Tom still includes shellfish on his the Michelin-starred restaurant menus, trusting his chefs to maintain high standards. The allergy came as a blow to Tom who confessed he “loved” oysters and scallops.
Speaking on the Things People Do podcast with star Joe Marler, Kerridge revealed: “I’ve got a massive shellfish allergy. I can’t eat shellfish.”
He added: “We serve it. It goes back to trust elements, I’ve tasted them all, I’ve eaten them all, it’d just make me very, very instantly ill.”
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Tom Kerridge says he “loved” oysters and lobster (Image: (Image: Getty))
“No s******* but puking, almost passing out. Like the girl in the Exorcist.”
The renowned chef, who runs two-star The Hand and Flowers and one-star The Coach in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, reassured fans that despite his inability to taste the shellfish dishes, their “standards won’t slip”.
Tom has opened up about the challenges of maintaining high culinary standards despite his personal food allergies.
Speaking to Deliaonline, he said: “We have people who’ve worked for us for well over 15 years and every head chef in the business has been with us for over 10 years so we’ve been working to our own personal and professional standards for a long time. Just because I can’t eat a lobster dish they are not going to let standards slip.”
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Tom Kerridge says he used to love shellfish. (Image: Getty)
His allergy has even influenced his role on the Great British Menu, where he avoids judging shellfish dishes and is instead served alternative fish-based options.
Tom didn’t discover his allergy until his mid-twenties, as he revealed in a 2014 interview with The Staff Canteen: “I didn’t realise I had a shellfish allergy until I was 24; I didn’t eat shellfish until then.”
He further explained the progression of his condition, “My allergy started as crustaceans, but it’s progressed to shellfish as well now. When I first had shellfish I was violently sick, but I didn’t associate it with being an allergy initially.”