Celebrity chef hosts food festival show in first visit to ‘rather magnificent’ Bolton

Celebrity chef Marco Pierre White had come to perform at the much-loved annual festival’s Chef’s on Stage Cookery Theatre at the Albert Halls.

But before taking to the stage, he spoke to The Bolton News about what struck him most when the town first came into view.

Leeds-born Marco said: “When I first arrived, I thought what a magnificent town hall it was, with the stone lions out front, it struck me as being very similar to Leeds Town Hall.”

Marco sat down to speak with The Bolton News before the show (Image: Phil Taylor) Looking back on his career the 63-year-old, who had become the youngest chef ever to win three Michelin stars back in 1995, reflected on how the scene has changed in that time.

He said: “I think if you look at what’s happened over the last 30 years, the public feeling about food has really grown. If you look at the demand for books, for live shows and festivals, that’s really grown.”

Marco was in Bolton for the very first time (Image: Phil Taylor) He added: “When I was a boy, it was very rare that we’d go out for a meal, it would be a birthday or something like that.”

Marco cited examples like Blur star Alex James’s Big Feastival, the Pub in the Park Festival and many others that demonstrate the public’s growing appetite.

Marco regaled the audience with anecdotes from his long and storied career (Image: Phil Taylor) He said: “I think if you look, the collaboration of music and food is growing; if you look at all the big food festivals, music is woven into this.”

Marco’s thoughts on the growth of food festivals preluded the main course, where he demonstrated how to make the perfect risotto at a live Albert Halls show.

Before a rapt audience that also included Mayor of Bolton Cllr David Chadwick and other guests, he prepared a delicious meal and answered a series of questions.

The show drew a big turnout (Image: Phil Taylor) He returned again to how much he was struck by the historic town hall that now hosted him.

Marco said: “When I first arrived the very first thing I saw was the top of your town hall and I thought it looked rather magnificent.

“Then I saw the lions out at the front and I said to my boss I bet the person who designed that also designed Leeds Town Hall.

The show drew a big crowd (Image: Phil Taylor) “Obviously ours is a bit bigger but that’s another story!”

Marco handed out all kinds of pearls of wisdom from his many years in the industry as he went about his work.

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This included expounding on the best materials for spatulas to hinting about a new TV series in America and why Italian is one of his favourite cuisines.

When asked about what makes the best chef, he said that all the best he had worked with had been from the North West and Yorkshire because of “the fear”.

Marco said that “that fear that they’ll go down south and not be good enough” was what drove them to be the best.

He said: “Because they push and they push because of that fear.”

Source – INDIA TV