Malton-born celebrity chef James Martin is heading out on a UK tour – and you can expect live music as well as banging recipes created on stage
Celebrity chef James Martin will be celebrating a major landmark in 2025 when he heads out on the road with his all-new live tour. James’ fifth tour will include his 100th live show and comes after four sold out tours that have seen him cooking on some of the most famous stages in the country.
In 2025, James Martin Live will see the popular TV chef and best-selling author visit 20 amazing venues across England, Scotland and Wales – including York and Hull this month – combining the perfect ingredients of mouth-watering dishes with his warm Yorkshire wit.
From Food Festivals to the Big Stage
So how did James get to show 100? “I’d been doing live demos at food festivals for years, and was at the Good Food Show one year, when someone from Live Nation had been dragged along by their wife,” he explains. “I was always fortunate at events, my demos would be really popular and have full crowds and this guy couldn’t believe this half-hour stage show with food. He came up to me at the end and said you should take it on the road… And the rest is history. It’s funny, I remember, looking back, the incredible Keith Floyd said, ‘One day chefs will be rock and roll’ – and here we are.”
And in James’ case, that’s truer than for most as he combines the live cookery show with his love of music. “There have been a few chefs who have done tours, and even Ready Steady Cook did it 25 years ago, they haven’t all worked but it seems like something has clicked with my shows and that’s amazing,” he says. “We spend a lot of time in the pre-production phase, thinking about and planning what we are going to do. I have the same producer as the Strictly Come Dancing live tours, and we have a brilliant team on board from Live Nation and Cuffe and Taylor.
The Secret Recipe for a Hit Show
“People ask what do the shows involve,” he continues. “It’s food, comedy, music and a great, great night out. And for four tours now, people seem to like it. Bringing that all together seems to be the secret recipe for success.”
The new tour is set to be a journey through recent retro food history, taking fans on a culinary exploration from the 50s through to the 80s, as well as a trip round the world – courtesy of James’ back catalogue of food travel shows.
Cooking Through the Decades
“I started putting the show together with a blank piece of paper three months ago and now I’ve locked in about 80% of it,” James explains. “The show will feature all new recipes which we’ve been developing already – and all new stories from my career. The research has been fascinating, going back to look at it all, and the 50s had some bloody hilarious food.”
Alongside the food – all prepared in James’ own inimitable style, with recipes specially designed to make audience members’ mouths water – he also brings plenty of surprises to his live show. Previous tours have seen him build the ‘biggest and best bacon and cheese butty’, perform ‘surgery’ on a Barbie doll to create a Baked Alaska, and invite audience members to show off their tattoos.
But one common feature is the live music segment – and he’s already been working hard at it. “I’ve got a few good surprises planned,” he teases. “I’ve just had something delivered from eBay for the intro section of the show and will be having it pimped up ready to rock. There’s a theme that’s going to involve a bicycle, which will run through the evening, and it’s going to be very funny.
Rock ‘n’ Roll Meets Fine Dining
“And then there’s the music! I have been rehearsing with the band for seven months already, just for that nine-minute segment, but that means that once we’re on the road and doing the shows, I can really enjoy it. The music sections are always a real highlight. I remember The London Palladium show last year, a Sunday night, everyone on their feet, disco balls and lights – it was a real party time, and we want to make that happen again.”
And, he says, there’s nothing quite like the live experience. “It’s something I think I learned doing Strictly Come Dancing, which was 19 years ago,” he says. “Those dancers were multiple world champions, and there was me, a chef from Yorkshire. I didn’t want to go out there looking like an idiot on live Saturday night, prime-time TV and learnt to never underestimate a live performance.”
As if further proof was needed of James’ ‘rock n roll chef’ status, there’s one addition to this tour which he thinks seals the deal. “Every time we go out we make it better in every way – from visuals to content – and this time for the first time, they’re giving me a tour bus, so I must be doing something right,” he laughs. “There is a kitchen on board, but I will not be using it.”
James cites the likes of Keith Floyd for breaking the mold of ‘matriarchal food lessons’ on TV – heading out on the road – as well as the Roux family for revolutionising the UK food scene at the highest level. But the show which made him a household name, Ready Steady Cook, also had a key role in bringing high-end chefs to the masses, inspiring foodie families with their food bag tasks, creating tasty dishes under pressured deadlines on a tea-time telly slot.
“I’ll have been cooking on TV for 32 years by the time the tour comes round,” James reflects. “And food on TV has evolved a lot. Saturday morning used to be all about kids TV and look at it now – it’s all about food, and I’ve spent 18 years doing that. It’s a big chunk of a person’s life.
“People like food on TV for inspiration,” he adds. “In our office we talk through all sorts of ideas; food for a tenner, a fiver, but it’s not just about low-cost or ‘what can I do with a tin of beans?’. We look at anything from a £2 burger to a £400 3* Michelin meal… And those 3* chefs love a £2 burger from time to time!”
And when James is on the road, with an occasional day back at home to relax between shows, it’s those ‘normal’ meals he turns to too. “What do I cook on a regular day at home? Roast chicken. Easy,” he says without hesitation. “An hour and a quarter in the oven with some nice veg, green beans from the garden, tomatoes from the greenhouse, or have it in a sandwich.
“As a chef, it’s a funny one; if you’re cooking for people at home, yes, you go and do your thing and get into the ‘process’. But if it’s just for everyday meals, most of us go for things like that – something simple but delicious; steak frites, or steak and a jacket potato, or a simple pasta, are my favourites.”
James Martin Live is presented by Cuffe and Taylor with Limelight Celebrity Management. He will be appearing at York Barbican on 21st February and Hull Connexin Live on 22nd February – tickets are on sale now via cuffeandtaylor.com
