Matt Tebbutt

Bio
Matt Tebbutt is a television food presenter best known for presenting shows such as BBC’s Saturday Kitchen, Channel 4’s Food Unwrapped, Drop Down Menu, and the Good Food channel’s Market Kitchen. Before this, Matt worked in restaurants for years, starting with a traineeship with Marco Pierre White immediately after graduating from Leiths. He then moved to the kitchens of Chez Bruce, followed by a stint at Clarke’s, where he learned the art of bread-making. He returned to Wales in 2001 after an absence of eight years and, with his wife Lisa, has transformed the former Foxhunter pub at Nantyderry into an acclaimed restaurant, winning AA Restaurant of the Year for Wales in 2004. Matt worked for Alastair Little longer than anyone else and learnt his ethos of using great ingredients, cooked simply.

Life before Leiths
Matt studied Geography and Anthropology at Oxford Brookes University and an early ambition to be a pilot led him to join the university air squadron – his attentions soon turned and he decided to train to become a chef. “I loved the theatre of watching a busy restaurant in full swing and was weirdly attracted to the pressurised demands of the kitchen.”

What happened after you graduated?
“I had it in my head that I just had to work for Marco Pierre White after being absorbed by his book ‘White Heat’. I walked into Marco’s three-star flagship restaurant and asked for a job! Aim high! I stayed with him there for about a year and a half.”

What do you love most about your job today?
“I love the unpredictability of live TV…I love chatting and cooking with a wide variety of first-class chefs and I get a chance to try some incredible food. After 90 minutes of live TV that has gone well, you do come off air feeling fantastic! It’s an incredible feeling that’s hard to find in many other aspects of life…I’m very lucky.”

How do you imagine the future of the industry will look like?
“It’s no surprise that the current situation is very difficult for the industry, but once we’ve gotten through all this I believe the industry will thrive once more. Hospitality is a massive part of everyday life these days, and the working environment in restaurants has never been so good.”