😳🔥 SATURDAY KITCHEN REUNION: TOM KERRIDGE SHARES HONEST VIEW ON JAMES MARTIN AHEAD OF HIGHLY ANTICIPATED MEETING

The past few decades have witnessed a remarkable explosion in the number of television chefs. The very first BBC cookery programme aired almost 90 years ago, in 1937, but the true era of the celebrity chef began, according to Tom Kerridge, with the effortlessly charismatic Keith Floyd in the 1980s.

Today, Tom adds, there is no shortage of TV cooks, each carving out their own distinctive niche. Ahead of his upcoming appearance on Saturday Kitchen, hosted by James Martin, the celebrated owner of The Hand & Flowers has shared his thoughts on some of his fellow professionals.

Speaking on Red Richardson‘s podcast, Tom told the comedian that he holds enormous respect for James Martin: “Everyone who does cooking on television has got their own different skill set for different reasons.

“Like James Martin is so good live and he’s brilliant at that, holding a conversation, listening and cooking. He’s a really good cook as well.”

There have certainly been one or two flashpoints between the pair in the past. Back in 2014, during a conversation with the late Michael Parkinson, James took a dig at fellow chef Tom’s method for making Yorkshire puddings after the Great British Menu judge appeared on Chris Evans’ radio programme to discuss the much-loved dish.

On Parky’s Top Table, James remarked: “Chris Evans was on the radio going on and on about a Yorkshire pudding and how to make it.

“Funnily enough, he actually got two chefs who were from as far south of Yorkshire as you possibly can get, the great Tom Kerridge, who I know and love, but I was listening to it on the radio, and I was listening to Tom Kerridge going on and on about consommé and stuff with a Yorkshire pudding.

“I’m listening to this in the shower, getting more and more annoyed. Next minute you had Mark Sargeant on, who couldn’t get any further south or his restaurant would be in the ocean, who runs a restaurant way down south going on about Yorkshire pudding.

“I went, ‘Why haven’t you got a guy on about Yorkshire pudding?’ So I picked up the phone and ranted and raved that my grandmother makes the best Yorkshire pudding.”

James revealed his cherished nan’s recipe, which calls for a considerably larger quantity of eggs than most chefs would typically suggest.

He explains that she would regularly use eight eggs, 8oz of flour and a pint of milk to create a single batch.

He recommends “throwing in” the flour and eggs before whisking them together, maintaining that the mixture should “always” be made by hand rather than with a machine, as it “toughens up the gluten” and stops them from rising correctly.

Once combined, he incorporates full-fat milk and continues mixing the batter. James then allows it to rest, placing it in the fridge the evening before cooking.

James stresses the importance of using beef dripping in the tins rather than duck fat or goose fat. The chef also disclosed his “golden rule” of opening the oven door for “two seconds” after 20 minutes to “get rid of the steam”.