no action would happen. And there’s always a chance the presenter will add a very odd question into the mix which takes you in a hugely different direction. I guess the funniest thing that ever happened was accidentally covering Lorraine Kelly in cake batter, I didn’t realise the whisk I was using had a reverse on it, I thought I was never going to work on TV again but it made the best clips of the year, so I guess it was a lucky accident.
When you’re not in front of the cameras, what’s your comfort food? I love food from many cuisines. I have a real affinity for South African Cape Malay Food. My Nan was from Cape Town and brought with her an incredible knowledge of this cuisine, this was the food that made me fall in love with cooking and will always be my biggest comfort.
Who would be your perfect dinner guest and why? I think it would have to be Ricky Gervais, Karl Pilkington and Stephen Merchant, I know that’s greedy wanting all three, but the dynamic between them is something that I will never get bored of. I love the way that they just set Karl up and then just let him run wild with his thoughts. If you’ve never listened to their podcasts, then they are a must.
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You’ve done so much already - recipe books, and TV shows - do you have anything else on your bucket list? I’ve been incredibly lucky; over the last 20 years I’ve got to do all the above and I’ve just released my seventh cookbook ‘Complete BBQ Made Easy’ which is a complete dream. I guess the only thing that I haven’t done is have my own TV show where I cook the food that I love, a little bit like what Rick Stein does. I’m obsessed with watching his shows, not only because of the food but the way he educates you about the places he travels to as well.
Do you have any plans to escape the heat of the kitchen to take life a little easier? I absolutely love what I do, so there are no plans to take a step back. In a strange way, my line of work is constantly evolving. If someone would’ve told me 20 years ago that primarily my focus would be social media and creating video recipes for my followers, I would’ve said they were mad. It’s crazy to think that I’ve got over 1.6 million followers now across my platforms (@deanedwardschef) and I feel very, very lucky that I have that many people invested in what I do. Luckily for me, I can do this from any part of the world, so who knows? I might get a chance to head back to Cornwall to live at some point in the future.
What one piece of advice would you give to someone entering the industry today? I would say to be confident, work hard and go for it. I took a huge gamble leaving a career where I was comfortable to move to the other side of the country to work in a two Michelin star restaurant. Looking back now I can’t believe I did it, it was a huge gamble, but it really paid off. It showed me a side of the food world that I never thought I would experience. Luckily now there are many different aspects that people can work within the world of food, social media being one of them. With the aid of just a smart phone, you can create incredible content to share with an audience around the world.
LIVE24-SEVEN.COM
What, do you feel has been the most significant change to the way we shop, cook, and eat today? I definitely think we’ve become lazy, many of us cook very infrequently, choosing to throw a ready meal into the oven or picking up the phone and ordering in. I’m not saying I don’t enjoy a little treat every now and then but I would love people to rediscover the passion of cooking from scratch using great ingredients. I always find it a real pleasure not just the cooking part but also the process of shopping for the ingredients, taking time to prep them and then putting them together to create a delicious dish the whole family will love.
There are so many strings to your apron, do you prefer TV, food festivals or researching and developing recipes for your new cookbooks? I love it all, I’m very lucky to be able to do all the above, no two weeks are the same, come to think of it every day has its own challenge, and that keeps my life extremely exciting and interesting. I’m constantly having to push myself to keep creating food that inspires people to get back in the kitchen, through all the mediums above, I’m able to do that.
What one ingredient or gadget could you not do without? I would have to say a good knife is a Chef’s best friend, so invest in a good one and look after it. Don’t stick it in the dishwasher or throw it in a drawer if you take care of it, it will take care of you.
You can see Dean on Sunday 26th July in the cookery theatre. The festival is open from 10am to 5pm, visitors can explore the best of the region’s food and drink, enjoy the live demonstrations, and take part in activities for the whole family.
Tickets start at just £12 including free parking, with a limited number of VIP tickets also available for those who want to enjoy priority parking and an exclusive meet-and-greet with the TV chefs.
Get your tickets now at
www.threecountiesfoodfestival.com
INTERVIEW DEAN EDWARDS
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