I won't talk about Fern says TV chef Phil Vickery

He loves Good Housekeeping, hates Michelin stars and WILL talk about his presenter wife Fern Britton, actually...

When TV chef Phil Vickery agreed to be interviewed by allaboutyou.com, he was adamant that he wouldn't talk about his wife Fern Britton. No problem, said Carol Muskoron - she met up with him in the Good Housekeeping Institute kitchen...

 

Q: Do you like working on This Morning?

A: Yeah. It's easy. I only do about 5 minutes. OK, I have to get up early, but live telly's great. If you muck it up, it's gone. And of course, I'm with Fern, and we have a good little chat.

 

Q: What are you up to at the moment?

A: I'm getting involved with Aldi. They're a German company and they're so cheap. Great layout in the stores. No fussy packaging. Some of the products are very very good. Aldi do a Premium Vanilla Ice Cream -  and I'd struggle to make one as good as that. I've done Michelin star cooking  but I like simple tasty food. Take a look at this [points to a delicious-looking dish that he's just rustled up] - this is packet rice, avocado, egg, spring onion, creamed horseradish. The cost is £3 for 4 people. It's rich, nutiritious, unpretentious and ready in 6 minutes. I spent 10 years getting Michelin stars and cooking for people who didn't appreciate it. I'm not doing it anymore. It makes me too unhappy.

 

Q: You're famous for delicious puddings - which one should we definitely be learning to make?

A: Egg custard tart. The deeper they are the better. Give them one hour to cook. Vanilla, a touch of rosewater, decent pastry...

 

Q: People also associate you with great British Cooking - why are you so into it?

A: British food? Cockling! Shrimping! Catching crabs off Dover Pier. Back in the 1960s my dad had a brilliant dressing for crab. He was out there! He used to have a whole pig on the kitchen table sometimes. He'd get me gulls eggs from the harbour. He gave me my love of British food.

 

Q: Where do you eat when you go out?

A: In London, it's The Ivy - it's consistently good. In Cornwall it's Rick Stein's place, The Seafood Restaurant. And Ripley's outside Padstow is fab - it's run by Rick Stein's old head chef.

 

 

Q: Favourite celebrity chefs? Do you have any?

A: Keith Floyd, Ken Hom (who's a friend of mine), the Roux brothers. Having said all that, I'm not phased by great chefs. I'm largely self-taught.

 

Q: You set up the Seriously Good Food company. Why?

A: I'd always watned to make a decent Christmas pudding, which the Seriously Good Food company did - they were gluten-free, vintage figgy puddings. But the factory burnt down. It was fun while it lasted.

 

Q: What would you say to someone who wants to manufacture their own puddings or food produce?

A: Well, the market is very price-led...

 

Q: So don't bother?

A: No - do bother. But it's hard. Make a few samples, send them to smaller companies (ie not Tesco but smaller local shops). But bear in mind that health and safety is very important - and the hardest part is the packaging (all the legal stuff you have to include).

 

Q: What's going to be on your Christmas table this year?

A: My kids don't like turkey. So it'll be roast leg of lamb, roast potatoes, Brussels, parsnips and trifle. I've done a three bird-roast for Boxing Day for Aldi. It's got my glaze on top and it's good! £9.

 

Q: Got a tip for Christmas for allaboutyou users?

A: Don't drink before the lunch is ready. I get so many emails from women who've had a tipple and ruined it all.

 

 

Q: I've heard that you like Good Housekeeping magazine. Why's that?

A: I did a nude photoshoot for them. Honestly. It was about testicular cancer. But on the food side Good Housekeeping is very professional. All of their recipes work. And they were nice to Fern 15 years ago. You can trust what they'll write.

 

Q: How would you like your food to be remembered?

A: As unpretentious. And really tasty. A lot of food can be beautiful and taste not all that great.

Discover the Good Housekeeping recipes that Phil loves here 

See more of our celebrity chef interviews.

Thinking Christmas food already? We've got the best festive recipes ever here