Marcus Wearing, head chef _460
Merseyside-born top chef Marcus Wareing invites Anne Benson into the heart of his exciting world
IT’S 8:30am and guests at the Berkeley Hotel, in London’s Knightsbridge, are enjoying a leisurely breakfast. But step away from the relaxed calm of the restaurant and through the doors of the kitchen, and it is a very different scene as some 21 chefs beaver away to create the mouth- watering food that has earned Marcus Wareing two Michelin stars and made him the toast of the restaurant industry.
The lad from Southport has done good, and he couldn’t be happier than he is here now, in charge of his own restaurant, Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley (formerly Petrus).
In person he is charming, quiet and unassuming. But his passion for his food is undeniable.
As he pours me coffee in the kitchen, we are seated at a table where diners can watch their meals being made, and all around us the team of chefs are prepping and creating some of the best food available in London and, indeed, the UK.
Marcus is keen to get back to his station and start preparing some fresh fish, which has just come in. His working day, he explains, varies depending on what is happening.
Before he gained ownership of his own restaurant at the Berkeley, a lot of his time was spent in meetings or with solicitors, he says.
Last year, 38-year-old Marcus hit the headlines following his acrimonious split with F Word star Gordon Ramsay.
He had worked with Gordon since 1993 when he took a job as sous chef at the Aubergine restaurant, serving under the Scot. The pair became friends and Gordon was even best man at Marcus’s wedding.
They continued their successful partnership when Marcus launched Petrus, with the backing of Gordon’s company.
Marcus, who has been very outspoken about his former boss in the past, can’t talk much about the split today due to legal issues. But he describes the experience as like getting a divorce. He is glad to be through it.
"Now it is all about the kitchen," he says. "There is the preparation for our two services, lunch and dinner. It is just generally about making sure there are no slip-ups, that we have brought the right food, quality, checking standards.