Interview with Cooking With The Stars contestant Jason Watkins

Why have you decided to sign up for the show?

It seemed like a really good opportunity to learn how to cook good food. Why not be taught by a very skilled person as opposed to paying for some week-long course down in Somerset by an amazing chef? It’s nice to entertain as well as learn.

How would you describe your cooking abilities?

I’m ‘Mr Bland’ and that term seems to have been coined and bandied about quite a lot. At home I don’t do much cooking, my wife is a much better cook than I am and likes to cook. Over the years I’ve sort of stepped back and let Clara do the cooking and that’s good in one way but also I’ve let that happen and I think I shouldn’t have let that happen. I need to do more of the work so if I get better at it then I’m more likely to be able to do more meals for the family which is what I want to do.

Do you like going out for dinner? Would you consider yourself a foodie?

We do like food, yes. We like going out but my wife does cook nice food at home and she enjoys cooking and putting spices together and being very creative. When we go out, we don’t go to fine French dining but we’ll go to a good Indian restaurant or a good Italian - we’re not massively refined.

What is your favourite cuisine?

I like Italian cuisine as it’s very fresh - fresh pasta, fresh salads and fish. I like Mediterranean food but I also like Japanese food and Scandinavian food. I love fresh fish.

Do you have a bit of a guilty pleasure when it comes to food?

Chocolate! I’m trying to keep strong and fit so I try to avoid chocolate. It’s not really a guilty pleasure but I must have tried every single granola on the market for the last two years - I’ve tried all of them and I don’t know if I’ve found my ideal one! Pastries is another one.

Have you ever had any cooking disasters at home?

Two disasters come to mind. One was I made a French patisserie thing, I’d never done it before and I’ll never do it again but it took around four hours, so by the time it was ready everyone had gone home. Me and my mate Andy dutifully stayed on and I made the worst bolognese in the history of cooking probably about five years ago - my family still talk about it, it’s gone into the Watkins folklore.

Have there been any funny moments or cooking disasters yet during filming?

Nothing can prepare you for the one hour time limit - I had four different elements of the Indian dish I was making and within each element I missed out a couple of ingredients. I got into a bit of a panic but I managed to pull it round and get everything plated in time.

Would you describe yourself as competitive?

I was a sportsman not like Chris [Eubank] but I loved sports so I always thought I was competitive. But with this I want to do the best I can do.

What has it been like working with April?

April’s absolutely brilliant. She is very disciplined and I tend to get a bit distracted when we’ve been training and she’s keeping me on the straight and narrow. She’s got a fantastic personality and she’s got her own brilliant restaurant in Brixton. I really want to help her in her career and not mess it up!
If you were hosting a dinner party and could invite three famous faces, who would they be?
I’d have April as she’s been brilliant. Somebody I would like to cook for would be a philosopher. Isn’t it nice when you eat and you talk about philosophy? Plato or someone like that or Sophocles and Jean Paul Sartre. And maybe an artist like Barbara Hepworth.

Are you in it to win it?

I’m not a good cook, it’s not just me saying that because I want to go on a journey, I understand my own shortcomings but in my heart of hearts I thought when I was first judged they would go ‘Oh my God. You’ve got something.’ And they didn’t! So, am I in it to win it? No, because looking around I think other people will do better than me. And that’s no disrespect to April because her dishes are fantastic but it’s my ability. I’ll be as determined and diligent as possible to cook them but I’m in it to make my dishes as well as I can.

ENDS