BBC Two's The Hidden World of Hospitality with Tom Kerridge to lift lid on industry

Across eight episodes of The Hidden World of Hospitality with Tom Kerridge, the celebrity chef – known for judging on Great British Menu and hosting shows such as Tom Kerridge’s Sunday Lunch and Saving Britain’s Pubs with Tom Kerridge – heads into 16 establishments to see who is making the magic happen.

Kerridge, 49, visits everywhere from Michelin-starred restaurants to burger joints, fish and chip shops to wedding venues, discovering along the way how the same passion, drive and love of food, drink and fun unites everyone in the world of hospitality, and shining a light on how issues like rising bills and the cost-of-living crisis are spelling real trouble for the industry as a whole.

Let’s find out more from the chef himself.

There’s no denying that the hospitality business is a labour of love, and we see in the documentary how the pressure can get to people. Is this something you’ve experienced as a chef?

“The pressures that I put on myself as a professional… trying to become that first pub to win two Michelin stars… it’s 16, 18 hours a day, particularly when it’s your own business and you’re trying to get to that point.

“You’re just pushing and pushing and pushing, and you do need a release valve, you do need to find something that I suppose takes away, or just takes you out of that zone. And mine was through alcohol.

“Since I stopped drinking, we’ve opened The Coach, won a Michelin star there, we’ve opened the Butcher’s (Tap), we’ve opened (Kerridge’s Bar and Grill at the Corinthia, London), we’ve run a festival, like, it’s become into a – not a work obsession, but it’s become into… I found myself in a space where I can enjoy, through gaining two Michelin stars, being (in) that position.

“I can immerse myself in the world that I absolutely love.”

The hospitality industry is facing a lot of hurdles at the moment – particularly financially. This series seems like a great opportunity to show people the realities of this issue.

“For people who don’t necessarily understand the costs that go into hospitality, this is a great way of showing it… because the show is so varied and broad and visits 16 different places.

“Some are one and two Michelin star level, and some are not at that space. But that shows the difference in ingredient and ingredient point – the price positioning and what happens. So yeah, I think it will give people a much better understanding of… why things cost that much.

“Because, you know, one of the biggest questions that should always be asked is actually: why is something so cheap?”

What are the biggest costs impacting hospitality businesses?

“The biggest thing, the biggest cost that comes in – we talk about energy bills, we talk about food inflation, but it’s human beings.

“What value do we put on people? People who are serving, people who are clearing plates, people who are cooking, people who are washing up, people who are answering the telephone – all of those things. You start seeing it behind the scenes.

“All of those people… and the only way you make money is by selling a piece of sea bass or some chips, you know? That’s how it gets paid for.

“It’s a real good insight into people’s understanding, for every hospitality business, of why things cost money.

“It isn’t just about the value of an ingredient that you can buy from a supermarket, and you can cook it at home. That’s what’s always thrown at restaurants and hospitality people when they talk about the price of stuff.

“So yeah, it’s a great way of showing a bigger picture of what goes into hospitality.

“Hospitality is about creating an environment and a space and a place for people to release and enjoy themselves… There is a value to that.”

And there’s a value no matter if it’s a fine dining restaurant or your local chippy, isn’t there?

“We always associated fish and chips and burgers as cheap, throwaway fast food that was just unhealthy and rubbish… when you get to see the people that are cooking it and making it, their passion for that is exactly the same as (The Old Stamp House head chef) Ryan for his Michelin star.

“The guys that are doing the burgers… their passion for their business is the same as Ryan. They don’t put themselves under the same sort of pressure of that meticulous detail, but they put themselves under that pressure for the flavour, the profiles, how those burgers should be – they really want them to be the most amazing burgers that they can be. So there’s a real sense of the passion that’s coming across.

“That’s the most important thing for us, is (for) people to see that the passion that goes behind everything in the industry.”

The Hidden World of Hospitality with Tom Kerridge starts on BBC Two on Thursday, July 27 at 8pm.