Tom Parker Bowles says his love of food stems “entirely from greed. I just love eating!”
And though he’s laughing, Tom’s really not joking. In Britain the 43-year-old son of Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, is a celebrated food critic and writer and for two months of the year he hops over here to work for Channel Nine as a judge on the home cooking TV reality show Family Food Fight.
Australia has become Tom’s second home and now he gets to hang out with his fellow judge Sydney chef Matt Moran.
“Last year I didn’t know him at all, but now we’re great friends,” Tom tells The Weekly.
“With him I feel you have to earn his respect. We just talk about food the whole time. I love him. I had lunch with him yesterday. He’s produce-based like all the great chefs.”
Tom loves working alongside Matt Moran.
The show’s other judge, cake genius Anna Polyviou “is great too” says Tom.
“There are these two incredibly talented chefs and this slightly dodgy Englishman who’s a hack and writes about food. I do the easy bit, I eat food and write about it. I’m the amateur really. These two are the pros. Away from the show we all have dinner together. We work and play together.”
In the October issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly Tom pops in to our famous Test Kitchen to cook some of his personal favourite recipes.
“My favourite Australian food is chicken Twisties,” Tom confesses.
“We don’t have them in the UK…And of course marrons and the amazing shrimp and prawns and mud-crab; the crustaceans here are out of this world.”
In his home kitchen, where he cooks daily for his two children Lola, 10 and Freddy, 8, Tom says there is one ingredient he simply cannot do without.
“Chilli in all its multifarious forms.”
He hardly ever cooks for his mum, the Duchess of Cornwall and stepfather Prince Charles, who prefer plainer food. “
My mother and I argue in the kitchen. If we were on Family Food Fight we’d last five minutes.”
Prince Charles with the Duchess of Cornwall, Tom Parker Bowles, The Duke of Sussex, The Duke of Cambridge, Laura Parker Bowles, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Queen and Bruce Shand. Source: Getty Images
So, can we expect Tom to move full time to this side of the world?
“No, I still love England and London but I feel very lucky to be able to come to Australia for two to three months each year, to see my friends and eat,” he says licking his lips.
And with all the eating going on how does he stay trim?
“I go to the gym all the time and I hate it. Spinning at 6.15 in the morning is hell. Also, I don’t drink in the week now. I’m a responsible middle-aged man,” he chuckles.
Pick up the October issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly to try some of Tom Parker Bowles’ favourite recipes.
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