James Martin (Image: Getty)
Celebrity chef James Martin has opened up about the stresses of opening his first restaurant and how he’s learnt to cope with the pressure.
James has been a household name in Britain for more than 20 years, having presented numerous TV shows including Saturday Morning with James Martin, Saturday Kitchen and James Martin’s Great British Adventure.
The 52-year-old is already the chef at a number of popular restaurants including The Kitchen at Chewton Glen, and James Martin Manchester inside Manchester235 Casino.
James is used to high-pressure environments, whether that’s cooking for the rich and the famous or hosting TV shows live in front of millions of people, and opening a restaurant is no different.
Speaking to The Times, the This Morning star explained what it was like opening his first restaurant, Hotel du Vin in Winchester, at the age of just 21 after two years working as a pastry chef at Chewton Glen Hotel in Hampshire.
James Martin (Image: Getty)
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He said: “If I thought about everything that could go wrong every time I opened a restaurant, I’d be a complete mess. Ever since I opened my first place at the Hotel du Vin in 1994 I have gone in with complete faith in myself and the people I’m working with.
“Making it work is not about money, it’s about belief and it’s about hard, hard graft. Yes, you’re taking a risk, but you take that risk knowing that you will win.
“If I had any doubts at all, I wouldn’t be doing this job. It was the success of that restaurant that first got me on the property ladder.”
James’ TV career began in 1996 with The Big Breakfast and Ready, Steady, Cook. Over the next ten years he went on to film shows including Entertaining with James and Housecall.
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The chef told The Times that it was these early TV appearances that helped him put down the deposit for his three-bedroom flat.
He said: “When we opened du Vin, I was renting a flat above a takeaway in Winchester. I made enough to save up a deposit, but none of the banks were interested in me. They wanted three or four years of accounts.
“I finally went into the Bristol & West Building Society on the high street. Luckily, the lady I spoke to had seen me on telly and thought I had “longevity”. I walked out of there with £150,000 to play with. So I walked into Hamptons estate agents on the other side of the road and I saw a bloke putting up a card for a three-bedroom flat. Job done!”
James will be back in the kitchen for the final time in 2024 as the festive celebrations continue with his guests Russell Watson and Kim Wilde, chefs Paul Ainsworth and Pip Lacey, and master cocktail maker Merlin Griffiths. James Martin’s Saturday Morning will be on ITV at 9.30am.