Marcus Wareing recently took to Instagram to announce to the world that this Christmas will be his last at The Berkeley Hotel, home to his Michelin-starred restaurant, Marcus. After 20 years at the helm of one of the capital’s most prestigious fine dining restaurants, he is ready for a change. “This Christmas is the end of the Berkeley for me,” he says, “so I’ll be at work there on Christmas Day and then at home with family, but I’ll leave that to [my wife], Jane. I’ve got a job to do, but it’s the last one for me.” I ask him if the move is an emotional one. He tells me it’s anything but. “It’s a celebration,” he enthuses. “There was an opportunity to continue in the hotel, but I chose not to do that because fine dining, for me, is something I’ve done. I’ve got a new project on the horizon for 2024 and beyond, and I want to invest in new chefs now. I’ve done fine dining for 37 years, and I have run Marcus for 20 years. I want more challenges in life and kitchens are quiet places these days.”
Marcus Wareing
We talk specifically of Christmas, not only because the festive season fast approaches when we speak, but also because Marcus has a brand new show coming out in December, Marcus Wareing at Christmas, aimed at helping take the stress and strain out of the yuletide season. It’s the first show of its kind for Marcus, and he seems genuinely excited about it. “The thing I love about [the show] is that Christmas can be really stressful for a lot of people and, for me, this is about taking away the fear of the big events that we celebrate with lots of people through the holidays.” He recognises that particularly now, “the economy is tough and things are tight, but there are ways to get around that.” Most importantly, he tells me, you need to prep and prepare. “We’ve all seen so many shows about Christmas with all the lovey-dovey stuff, but this show is about great food, simple food, family food. I want to help people achieve their goals rather than making it complicated because it can be very overwhelming.” Try and keep things in perspective, he insists. “We buy a chicken for a Sunday roast for six people and don’t stress, but then we buy a turkey ten times the size we need to serve the same number of people at Christmas. It just doesn’t make any sense; why do we feel we always have to buy the biggest bird on the planet?”
Marcus is, by his own admission, a turkey lover. “We always have turkey in my house at Christmas. I do love it.” Because Christmas at The Berkeley is the busiest time of year, “my own Christmas is split between the restaurant and home, but we will have a lovely breakfast as a family and open presents for a few hours and then have our Christmas lunch a bit later when I return from work.” But, he tells me, “all the preparation is done beforehand, both at home and at The Berkeley. That will make your life so much easier and, don’t forget, the shops are open between Christmas and New Year, so there’s no point in over buying and wasting so much food. Plan in advance by carefully thinking about your turkey ahead a time, how you’re going to cook it and how you are going to serve it. And, most importantly, just try to enjoy the experience. Don’t feel like you have just run a marathon to get a meal on the table to eat in half an hour or you’ll be exhausted and knackered at the end of it all.” Far from exhausted himself, Marcus may be closing his doors at the Berkeley, but he has plenty in the pipeline for 2024 and beyond. Can you tell me what you’ve got in store, I ask? “No” he laughs. “That’s for another interview.” Watch this space.
Below, Marcus shares with us his five favourite restaurants, all of which make for wonderful Christmas options if you do, in fact, decide to hang up your apron and hand the reigns over to someone else.
