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Celebrity chef Tom Kerridge has shared that at least half of the restaurants in his empire run at a “minor profit”, with the current instability in the hospitality industry hitting even the most high-end establishments.
Speaking to The Guardian, the 51-year-old, who runs the pubs The Hand & Flowers and The Coach, which have both been awarded Michelin stars, said that despite his success it is still a struggle to keep things afloat.
Kerridge admitted: “We have six sites and I would say three operate at a very minor profit, two just about break even, and one’s losing a lot of money. It’s a constant battle of spinning plates and moving money to keep it bubbling along.”
Journalist Tim Jonze also spoke to Jamie May, head chef at Hand & Flowers, who painted a similarly worrying picture, claiming that each shift is unpredictable. “I prepare every day like I’m going into war,” said May.
In December, Jeremy Clarkson also shared the struggles he has experienced with his pub, The Farmer’s Dog, which he opened in 2024. Writing in The Times, the former Top Gear host said: “The customers are coming. There’s no problem there. But turning their visits into a profit is nigh-on impossible.”
Kerridge opened The Hand & Flowers alongside his wife Beth in 2005. Within a year, he had gained his first Michelin star.
Since then, the TV personality has been given three Michelin stars, including a second for The Hand & Flowers, and a third for The Coach. He has appeared on numerous TV programmes such as MasterChef and Saturday Kitchen and currently presents Food and Drink for BBC Two.
Kerridge – who has dealt with criticism of his prices in the past, including an £87 charge for a sirloin steak in his Buckinghamshire pub – was forced to defend charging £35 for fish and chips in luxury department store Harrods.
Speaking to the Radio Times in 2023, Kerridge said that the backlash no longer affects him and he’s “learnt to deal with it”.
“I’m seen as a man of the people, so when I put fish and chips on for £35, they shout at me for it being expensive,” he said.
“But the people criticising me don’t understand how it’s priced. Fish and chips was always seen as cheap, fast food, and I get that because of where I grew up.”
Kerridge went on to explain the supply chain behind a portion of fish and chips, saying: “The fish in most chippies is frozen at sea, in a big block, a year ago, then cut up and portioned.
“The potatoes are maybe four weeks old, have gone through a chipper, been cleaned and put into cheap oil. They’re wrapped in paper, with malt vinegar and salt.”
English (US) ·