Cooking UP A STORM!

Joe Marler meets rugby-mad chef Tom Kerridge in his London restaurant to discuss food, tackling and the big Six Nations issues

LUNCH service is about to begin as Joe Marler barrels into the luxurious surroundings of Kerridge’s Bar & Grill in central London. ‘Come into the kitchen,’ says Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge, handing over an apron that just about fits around the prop’s chest. ‘My son Acey copied your mohawk haircut. You are his idol. Honestly!’

‘If you’re a responsible father, you should have a word with him about his idols!’ replies Marler, eyeballing the roast chickens that are ready to be plated up.

‘I was a sous chef at Bateman’s tea room in East Sussex when I was a teenager. The place where Rudyard Kipling used to live. My exgirlfriend’s mum was the head chef and she had me chopping salad and making scones. I had to take the bins out at the end of the day and at the same time I’d leave a whole banana loaf out by the bins and tuck it in my bag at the end of the day. In the end, I got sacked because they realised I’d been nicking cakes! Anyway... have you got a job going?’

Bursting into laughter, Kerridge directs Marler over to the serving area. His lunch brief is food that he would eat while watching the Six Nations: chicken burgers, mushroom risotto and Welsh rarebit are on the menu.

Kerridge is well qualified for the task. A lifelong rugby fan, he played for his local club in Gloucester as a teenager and supports his hometown club. His food is served at The

Lock restaurant at Twickenham Stadium, while his young son is part of the Marlow club.

‘Do you have to watch what you eat as a professional rugby player?’ he asks his guest.

‘I haven’t been locked down for fat testing for a while,’ says Marler, while following instructions to dress the chicken. ‘Eddie Jones was big on it, used to love getting the calipers out. Training’s that much harder now you have to plough in more calories and protein.

‘I used to love the day before an England match. We’d be rushing around sorting out tickets for all our mates, do a team run and then come back to the hotel. We’d rush back and have giant bowls full of chicken liver pate. So smooth and moussey. I’d have plates loaded up with five or six pieces of toast and warm caramelised onion marmalade. By game day I’d be five or six kilos heavier!

‘Eddie came in and he took it off the menu. It was like when Fabio Capello banned the England football team from having tomato ketchup so they’d sneak in some Tommy K.’

After running riot through the kitchen for half an hour, with a wellheeled waiter standing by, the pair add the finishing touches to their dishes. ‘You’ve got to set fire to the Welsh rarebit now,’ says Kerridge, handing over a gas canister. ‘Cheese on toast?’ replies Marler. ‘It’s a flour-based sauce with beer in it,’ clarifies Kerridge. ‘It’s like a white sauce, then you add the cheese to it. Go on… blow torch it, get loads of colour on it, nice and bubbly. Little sprinkling of chives on the top. Use those gorilla hands of yours! There you go, lovely.’

‘Service!’ shouts Marler, at the top of his voice, ‘...I’ve always wanted to do that!’

Dishes served, they take a seat in the corner of the dining area. A few heads turn from nearby customers, as they tuck in while discussing their shared love for food and rugby. ‘I played until the age of 17 or 18,’ says Kerridge. ‘Tight-head prop, back home in Gloucester. There’s something special about rugby clubs; the atmosphere and the community. I grew up in a single parent family with my mum, went to an all-boys comprehensive in the middle of three council estates where all the kids were quite competitive in sport. I didn’t grow up with a dad but at the rugby club I was surrounded by father figures. Older blokes full of stories and encouragement.

‘It got to a point where I started coming up against these big horrible blokes who were so physical. You’re getting mauled about and whacked in the face. My best mate is Mark Cornwell, big second row, 6ft 8in, 23st and ended up playing for Gloucester. He threw a punch once, right behind me and instead of punching the other prop he punched me! I saw this fist the size of this table coming towards me. I stopped in the end because when you go into a kitchen as an 18-year-old, you end up working every evening and weekend.

‘Now I love taking my little man, Acey, down to Marlow. He’s only seven but he’s a unit. A try machine. I put on a tracksuit and help out the proper coaches, a bit like a classroom assistant. It’s amazing. After the session everyone hangs around the club for two hours to have bacon sandwiches and chips.’

With a mouthful of chicken burger, Marler shares his own memories of community rugby, venting teenage anger down at Eastbourne RFC after becoming frustrated with being stuck in goal in the football team. He has been critical of the proposed changes to lower the legal height to beneath the waist at community, doubling down on his position.

‘You get your grafters who turn up at Marlow Rugby Club on Saturday for a bit of a release,’ Marler says. ‘They know they shouldn’t take someone’s head off but they don’t have time to perfect their tackle technique. I like rugby for the nature of that physicality. It’s the player’s choice.

‘As a parent, I’d like to think I’m more than capable of making a decision on my child’s behalf. If I think rugby looked a bit too rough for them, then I’ll steer them towards badminton or something. As long as there’s an informed decision, rather than changing the game to something else.’

Listening in, Kerridge adds: ‘Speaking as an amateur, my first point of tackling would almost be like a body hug because it’s a bit of a softer impact. In my head I’d play the game for fun and I don’t want to get someone’s knee in my face.

‘At the same time, player safety is important. A few years ago everyone drank 16 pints of Guinness after a match. Now

In the end I got sacked because they realised I was nicking cakes!

they’re on the protein shakes and they’re built, so the hits are so much different. I remember watching Jonah Lomu’s first game, what a machine he was, and all of a sudden the game changed. Now everyone’s like Jonah Lomu, so you’ve got to change the game, but I’m not sure that’s the right route.’

Given the chance, Kerridge will head down to Marlow Rugby Club to watch England’s Six Nations matches. ‘The kids concentrate for the first half and then they start whacking each other with lightsabers,’ he says.

He will be working on the hospitality catering for the Scotland and France Tests and asks Marler if he is disappointed not to be involved in Steve Borthwick’s squad.

‘My days are gone,’ says Marler. ‘I’m too old now and I’m not playing well enough. Ellis Genge has matured so much, he’s a freak and rightfully so he’s England No1.

He’s so emotionally intelligent. He’ll keep working on his scrum until he becomes the best in the world. You’ve got Mako Vunipola and Bevan Rodd and I’m shocked Val Rapava-Ruskin isn’t there. One of your Gloucester boys. He’s been the best loosehead in the Premiership this season.’

Asked if we will be doing any TV work on the matches, he adds: ‘No, they’re worried I’ll insult someone’s mum! Maybe I’ll get on the blower to Steve if he wants a scrum coach. Can you imagine? Not for me. Not being away with England for the last couple of years has made a huge difference to my family life.’

Marler catches the attention of the sommelier as he walks past the table. Asked if he’d like a glass, he jokes: ‘I’ll have a bottle! I love a pinotage. Do you know what I’m really in to at the moment? Bruce Jack Pinotage Malbec blend from Sainsbury’s. £7.50. Have you tried it?’

Conversation turns back to food, as the waiter brings over more and more dishes. Steak tartare and pork belly are next, Marler stops just short of licking the plates.

‘Do you ever think about protein, carbs and fats with your cooking here?’ he asks. ‘When I have to get on it, I think, ”Right, I need 40 grams of protein, 70 grams of carbs and less than 15 grams of fat. It’s all quite sterile. I just get it in me, with no real love to it.

‘When I officially retire for the eighth time I’ll actually end up losing loads of muscle mass. I’ve always been a food lover but there are times when I haven’t enjoyed food because I’m eating certain things to get in shape.’

Kerridge replies: ‘Here it’s all led by produce and flavour profiling. Salt, acidity, savoury, crunch, texture, sweetness, balance. It’s all about what it tastes like. Nothing to do with whether it needs extra carbohydrate or protein. We never think about that in the restaurant because people come here for something that tastes nice and to have a lovely time.

‘It’s interesting hearing your experience as an athlete. Steve Redgrave lives in Marlow and comes into one of our pubs. As a five time Olympian, for years he just looked at food as fuel. He’s only just now starting to enjoy food All of a sudden he’s starting to find the enjoyment in it.

‘But you can always make food taste great, no matter what it is. I used to be over 30 stone. I stopped drinking and changed my diet just over 10 years ago. I went low carbohydrate and I swam every day. You can make diet-style food taste nice and that’s the big thing.

‘If a powerlifter wants 16 chicken breasts poached in water, you look at how to season it and build flavour combinations. Take your chicken and bat it out between two pieces of cling film so it’s wafer-thin, scalloped. Sear it really hot, chuck on some sriracha sauce and suddenly it starts making it interesting.’

Piping in, Marler says: ‘They do the best crispy chilli beef at my local Chinese, the Wok Inn. You don’t really sit-in. You’ll have to come around mine next time and

Maybe Steve and Nick will go together like rosemary and lamb...

we’ll get a takeaway!’ Kerridge, shaking hands on the deal, replies: ‘You’re on!’

‘Sports nutrition has moved on a lot. We do some work with Manchester United, a lot of the post-match food and I’m always surprised that at that time the sports nutrition doesn’t really matter. At that point the players have used so much energy, burnt so many calories, they can almost eat what they want. It’s during the week they have the sense of responsibility.

‘I do the Full Time meals campaign with Marcus Rashford and he has a chef that prepares all his meals, nutritionally balanced with the right levels of proteins and carbohydrates.’

After a couple of hours at the dinner table, Marler has polished off seven dishes of food. Three chicken burgers, mushroom risotto, Welsh rarebit, steak tartare and pork belly. There is no room left for dessert. With a full belly, the pair discuss their shared admiration for Marcus Smith and swap Six Nations predictions. Kerridge tips England to finish second, while Marler goes for a Grand Slam.

‘Steve is a set-piece dominant coach and he’s added a bit of flair in Nick Evans,’ says Marler. ‘Maybe they will go together like rosemary and lamb.’

After signing an England shirt for Acey, Marler inconspicuously stuffs the apron up his jumper. ‘I’ll see you soon for that Chinese takeaway!’ he says, heading home to slip into a food-induced sleep.