Cooking the books

Ainsley Harriott talks to Jo Cantello about his loyalty to south west London, his inspirational family and why food should always be fun

Above: Ainsley Harriott

It’s a gloomy, exceptionally wet Monday morning and I arrive at the exclusive Chelsea Harbour Club looking like I’ve just waded in from the nearby Thames. Ainsley Harriott has suggested we meet here, as it’s one of his favourite local haunts. Unlike me, he must have read the weather reports and arrives sensibly rugged up in woolly hat and heavy winter jacket, which makes him seem even larger than his substantial six foot three frame.

As he greets me with a peck on the cheek, he exudes a cheery confidence. He’s similarly chirpy towards everyone around him, addressing the waitress by her first name and throwing a friendly wave to the occasional club member passing by. There’s no doubt it’s partly this down-to-earth charm that has made him a household favourite over the past 15 years.

We sit down to chat in the canteen, where Ainsley confesses he really fancies a fry-up (poached eggs, not fried) and a nice cup of tea (no sugar). He’s a firm believer in the ‘a little of what you fancy does you good’ philosophy, but is also very health aware. He certainly looks in fine fettle and it’s hard to believe he’s just turned 51. "Tennis is my game and I do like coming here," he says. "I walk in and I’m treated like anybody else. Most importantly, it’s close to home."

Home is nearby Wandsworth Common, where he lives with his wife Clare, a former costume designer and their teenage son and daughter. It’s within a short walking distance from where he grew up on Hendrick Avenue in Balham. Surprisingly, the furthest he’s ever moved to was Stockwell. "It wasn’t my scene and I didn’t last very long," he smiles.

Maintaining his ties to the local area is clearly important to him. He’s still close friends with fellow former pupils of Honeywell School, with whom he sometimes pops down to The East Hill or the Alma for "a nice easy pint". He also enjoys bumping into old pals when he’s out walking his dog Oscar on Wimbledon Common. "They’ll come up to me and say, "Hello Ains! You’ve done f-ing well, haven’t you!" he laughs.

Having lived in the area so long, Ainsley’s witnessed some dramatic changes. "I used to go to Northcote Road as a kid," he recalls. "We had two chippies, a burger bar, one restaurant and a caff. That was it. Now, 70% of the shops down there are food related."

With little to inspire him locally, when it came to nurturing his love for food and entertaining people, his family played a key role. His grandfather was a respected Jamaican chef, who was invited to cook for Franklin Roosevelt at the White House, whilst Ainsley’s father Chester Harriott, now retired, was an accomplished pianist and entertainer. In the early ‘90s, whilst taking a break from his career as a chef, Ainsley himself performed on the circuit as one half of the musical comedy act The Calypso Twins. It’s a skill he’s drawn on throughout his career. "Comedy never leaves you, it’s in your blood," he tells me.

On the food front, Ainsley credits his mother Peppy as the main influence in encouraging an appreciation for cooking, although he confesses, "I don’t think my mother was that enthusiastic about me going into catering back then. In the late ’70s, it wasn’t as respected as it is now." This didn’t deter him or his sister Jacqueline, who teaches food technology at a Peterborough high school. Ainsley took up his training at Westminster Catering College, where Jamie Oliver and Antony Worrall Thompson also studied. It took almost 20 years of working his way up through the kitchen ranks and pursuing his passion as a performer before he was spotted by the BBC. He was working as head chef of the Long Room at Lord’s cricket ground at the time. It’s is now 15 years later and he’s filming the 17th series of Ready, Steady, Cook. "It’s so hard to walk away," he says. "You feel such a loyalty to it. It’s like, I’m not going to let anyone else take my baby!"

Away from TV, he’s launching a new cookbook, Ainsley Harriott’s Fresh And Fabulous Meals in Minutes, to add to around 12 existing titles, which have sold over two million copies worldwide. Mouth-wateringly illustrated and with a definite international flavour, the book follows Ainsley’s signature approach that cooking should be fun. "I always love to make people feel happy," he says. "That’s probably one of the key reasons why I’ve been relatively successful. There’s a bit of a smile in the writing, so people don’t feel intimidated." He believes in keeping things simple to give people the confidence to express themselves. "The idea of having to spend a long time to get great results is absolute nonsense," he says. "The secret for me is in using good-quality produce."

Throughout his recipes, he also encourages using leftovers and he’s recently been backing the ‘Love Food, Hate Waste’ campaign, which aims to reduce the 6.7 million tonnes of food we throw away each year. The equivalent of one in every three bags of shopping, he tells me. "We buy things because we can," he says. "But it’s so easy to knock things together yourself, like dips and soups and it tastes so much better."

Cooking for family and friends at home is one of his great pleasures and he admits he’s quite a dominant force in the kitchen. "I suppose I’m the most influential at home," he says, smiling. "Clare’s good at finishing things, but not at starting them, because she knows I’ll come along and blitz the place," he laughs. When gathering his ingredients, he’ll often head to local stores. "There are a few nice delis off the common by Allfarthing Lane or Bellevue Road and I like Chadwick’s in Balham and Moens on Clapham Common. They’re good guys." But what about when he fancies taking a break from the kitchen? "I like going to the Fish Club. It’s great, great quality. And I still go to Chez Bruce," he says. "I like going to Tumnan Thai in Lavender Hill or I might pop into Nancy’s place." I wonder if he’s contemplated adding a restaurant of his own to his list of accomplishments. "I sometimes get excited about wanting to run a restaurant, but then I get cold feet, because I enjoy doing other things so much," he admits. "I know a lot of colleagues have half a dozen restaurants but are never there. If I have a restaurant, I want to enjoy it and be part of it."

Moving forward, Ainsley shows no signs of slowing down. His food range is expanding to include new sauces and mid-dinner meals, which he describes as "a half-way house where people do a bit, but we do the rest for them." He’s also keen to venture beyond the studio of Ready, Steady, Cook and explore new TV projects. "I’ve had this vision of going off touring the Caribbean and getting all these wonderful recipe ideas for a programme down there," he says enthusiastically. "Life is exciting. As long as you keep moving forward. That’s the secret."

Ainsley Harriott’s Fresh And Fabulous Meals In Minutes is published by BBC Books, priced £10.99

‘Love Food, Hate Waste’ campaign - www.lovefoodhatewaste.com