The new interview series where we flip the script and go behind the scenes by asking our chefs all about their music taste, and uncover the cooking habits of our fabulous musicians.
Our first guest is of course, Tom Kerridge! The founder and face of our festival, and an avid music fan, we couldn’t resist having a natter with Tom at the Hand & Flowers to let us in on his favourite tracks, whether he listens to music in the kitchen, his favourite restaurant playlists and that all important dream dinner party question!
1. Who are you favourite artists?
My favourite artists, well there's a number of bands that I really like, there's a number of people that I'd really like to see, I mean I'd love to see Sam Fender live, I'd love to see Lewis Capaldi live, that I've not seen, but in terms of gigs and people, live bands: Oasis, Kasabian, Placebo, all been incredible gigs.
2. Do you listen to music when you cook?
I listen to music when we cook all the time. So, we normally either have radio stations on, or more often than not, it's just dance tunes to keep that energy going, that motivation going throughout the day.
3. Do you have a go-to dance tune?
Always for me, dance tracks from the 90s. So, ah sadly, lost him fairly recently, but it would be anything by Faithless. Or the Prodigy.
4. What's the process for selecting music in a restaurant?
So the process for selecting music in the restaurant is normally you put a playlist together and it's done either by people that you speak to, like a music concierge kind of service and go this is a vibe and a feeling that we want, it goes throughout the day and it moves like the day. Or if you're very lucky you have an incredible barman called Fro who works behind the bar here for over 10 years, who just puts incredible tracks together.
5. What musicians would you invite to your dream dinner party (dead or alive?).
Dream musicians to a dinner party and I've cooked for him a number of times and here actually at the Hand & Flowers is Liam Gallagher. He's just amazing. He has his parka done up all the way to the top and is 100% Liam. Great fun, brilliant at any dinner party.
Actually, let's invite Liam Gallagher, Robbie Williams and Damon Oldbarn and see how they all get on...!
6. What dish would you serve them?
You want to make sure that everyone is happy, so listen, you can't go wrong with fish and chips, can you?
