Focus on your food not social media, Marcus Wareing urges budding chefs
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Chefs should concentrate on their food instead of social media, Marcus Wareing has said.
The Michelin-starred chef and Masterchef judge said today’s culinary artists have become “distracted” by trying to make a name for themselves on the internet and urged young people in the industry to instead focus on the food they are serving.
Asked in an interview what advice he would give to young cooks today, he told Radio Times: “I think chefs today are distracted by social media.
“I would say, try to build a foundation before wandering off, trying to build your name via social media. Build your name by the food that you put on the plate.”
Many modern chefs are turning to TikTok and Instagram to assist in boosting their success in the industry.
Nusret Gökçe, otherwise known as Salt Bae, has built a global restaurant empire since a video went viral in 2017 of him extravagantly cutting meat and sprinkling salt.
Wareing began his career at the age of 18 working at the Savoy Hotel in 1988 as a commis chef, before leaving to work at Le Gavroche where he met Gordon Ramsay, who he has credited with teaching him how to cook.
He moved to Paris to continue his training, and would later earn his first Michelin star at age 25 while working as the head chef at L’Oranger in London.
Wareing’s Michelin-starred restaurant, Marcus, closed permanently at the end of 2023.
He said that when it comes to his own cooking, he makes sure to maintain the same standard of “good quality” food both on and off the camera.
His new BBC series, Marcus Wareing Simply Provence, begins on May 6, in which he travels around the south of France to learn the secrets of the country’s famed cuisine from its locals.
However, Wareing, who has been a judge on MasterChef: The Professionals since 2014, said he is not doing it for “vanity”.
“I do this to educate myself and to take people on a journey,” he said of the six-part series.
Wareing stirred controversy last year by revealing his favourite pizza is the high-street pizza chain, Pizza Express.
Asked by TikTok influencer Jesse Burgess to name his favourite pizza, Wareing said: “This one is easy, but you’re not going to like the answer. Pizza Express. I know, I know.”
He added: “I still eat the same pizza I was eating for the past 20 years, American Hot, I love it. Romana, a little bit of extra chilli, I love it. It’s got to be a Romana base. And you know, every time I go it’s cooked the same.”
