Saturday Kitchen host Matt Tebbutt has revealed he was fired on the spot by Michelin-starred chef Marco Pierre White just one month into his dream job. The 52-year-old TV presenter made the admission while appearing on the Go To Food podcast hosted by Benjamin Benton and Freddy Clode.
Fired Mid-Service at The Oak Room
Tebbutt was training at the three Michelin-starred The Oak Room shortly after finishing culinary school. Reflecting on his four-week stint in the professional kitchen, he said: "I swerved him in service once, which didn't go down well, so he sacked me. I lasted a month; he sacked me on the spot."
After being dismissed, Tebbutt walked away to his corner, initially believing the chef was joking. "Turns out he wasn't. He turned to me and said: 'You still here? Get out!'", Tebbutt recalled.
A Surprise Phone Call
The future presenter returned home convinced his culinary career was over and began searching job adverts. "So I went home, and the next day I'm sat in my little basement flat looking through Timeout Guide thinking: 'Maybe it's Pierre Koffman's time!'", he said.
However, a phone call from Pierre White changed everything. Tebbutt recounted: "I had a phone call, it was Marco and he said: 'What are you doing there?' and I went: 'Well, you sacked me'. He said: 'Don't worry about that, come into work'."
A New Start and a TV Career
During the mid-1990s, Tebbutt had been given a promotion to work in one of the chef's brand-new kitchens in Piccadilly, London. He described the moment Pierre White took him to the Criterion as "a bit of a lifeline".
"I can't impress on you enough how good you feel when a big guy like that puts his hand on your shoulder and says: 'Don't worry about that, you'll be fine'. It's quite something when you're in that much awe of somebody. He took me over to the Criterion, he introduced me to the chef, and said: 'This is where you'll be working now'."
Tebbutt spent two years learning under Pierre White before moving on to work with Alistair Little and Sally Clarke. He eventually decided professional kitchens were not for him and moved into broadcasting and presenting, going on to host Saturday Kitchen.
