Marcus Wareing: Lazy young chefs only want fame

Top chef Marcus Wareing has accused young cooks of being lazy and of chasing fame on TV shows.

Wareing, whose restaurant at The Berkeley in Knightsbridge has two Michelin stars, criticised prospective staff “who want to be at the top, but don’t want to put the work in”.

He said: “Young people come into your kitchen judging you rather than us judging them. If it carries on the way it is there’s going to be no future. There’s no two ways about it, you put the graft in whether you like it or not.”

Referring to BBC show MasterChef, he said: “The key to success is longevity, not a five-minute trip on television, five-minute wonder.

“I have more cooks coming to me now wanting to know how many hours are they going to do, how many shifts is it, what are we going to get paid, how many holidays is it? You know what, do me a favour, mate. I’ll do it myself. I’d rather do it myself than have some a***hole stand in my kitchen and think he’s better than me or bigger than me.”

Wareing, 41, who also runs The Gilbert Scott at St Pancras, was speaking at the launch of Aalto restaurant at Birmingham’s new £24 million Hotel La Tour, where he has devised the menu.

He said: “The industry needs to stop and close the door. There’s a recession on out there at the moment. It’s not easy. And young people haven’t got a clue.”