Full name: Tim Harrington
Role: MCC Executive Head Chef, Lord’s Cricket Ground
DOB: 7/4/1963
Birthplace: Cardiff
Twitter Handle: “I’m a bit of a dinosaur, so don’t do Twitter!”
Website: https://www.lords.org
Fun Fact: “I know very little about cricket but coach under 13’s rugby”
So, it’s quite an distinguished path you have carved in the catering industry (see what I did there…?). You knew at the age of 13 that a career as a chef was for you, and you went into the RAF where you learnt the trade. What was that like? What does the RAF teach you? Could you tell us your journey up to today? Linklaters, The Royal Opera House…
Looking back, if I’m totally honest I didn’t take the RAF seriously. I joined at 16 straight from school, messed around too much, played lots of rugby and concentrated on having a good time. I was very naive about life and what would lay ahead of me. I just lived for the day and it wasn’t until years after I’d left that I realised what disciplines I’d learnt.
I left at the age of 24 and needed to buckle down so I moved to London to find my fortune. I came across ‘Catering and Allied’ in the world of contract catering. I didn’t even know contract catering existed. They seemed to see some potential in me and I gained invaluable experience working in different sites covering anything from staff canteens, fine dining, at cost feeding, budget catering, large and small functions and high profile events.
After 12 years I decided that I needed another challenge. I started at the Royal Opera House when my wife was 8 months pregnant with our son so it was quite a difficult time. We built a strong team and pushed the boundaries of catering, having a great time along the way, and I learnt more about the event and restaurant business. The GQ “Man of the Year” awards and the Bafta’s were amongst very high profile events we held during my five years there.
I was then asked to have a look at Linklaters who were closing down their staff restaurant and client hospitality facilities and rebuilding brand new ones. My initial remit was to oversee the closure, design and delivery of food for 600 without any cooking facilities and reopen with a new offer and different concepts – open theatre wok counters, rotisseries, wood burning oven, barbeques as well as client entertaining and fine dining.
In the first year we won the Midas “Best Staff Feeding Establishment” award. After three years I felt that I’d achieved all that I could there and, as luck would have it, the MCC job was vacant so I jumped at the opportunity.
As the guy currently in charge of the kitchen at Lord’s Cricket Ground you basically decide what’s on the menu for everybody, right? I assume there’s a lot of variance depending on if it’s ‘match’ season or not? What do you feed the players, typically? Does it vary?
30% of our business is non-cricket related, meetings and events happening all over the Ground both in season and out. I’ve already started menu planning for next season with our new Warner Stand currently being built with a pitch facing restaurant. Expectations are very high. Our Members and their guests are rightfully demanding and our hospitality boxes and restaurants must live up to high expectations.
Visiting cricket teams have different requirements both dietary and of course style and taste. We have a great reputation amongst the world’s players for our food so again it’s important that we deliver. Our main objective at Lord’s is to enhance the experience of everyone who visits with our great food and great hospitality.
In your opinion, what are the most and least overrated ingredients? And the things you enjoy most and to cook?
The most overrated food must be parsnips and sprouts, I can’t stand them. Christmas for me is lots of turkey and roast potatoes.
Least overrated are fresh herbs and marinades, they can transform a dish.
How much experimentation is allowed with an existing recipe?
Once we have decided on a recipe and plate specification it cannot changed. Can you image if a chef decides to put four carrots on the plate when the spec is three? We’d run out during service leaving hundreds of guests without.
What’s a ‘day in your life’ like? Could you give us an insight into working at Lord’s?
It’s an amazing place to be and I feel very privileged. No two days are the same and I’ve never worked in a place where time goes so quickly. Mostly it’s planning, planning and more planning. I’ve got a great team around me who operate brilliantly day to day allowing me the time to plan! On a major match day I walk a lot of miles. We have thirteen kitchens around the Ground serving breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea for over 3000 guests.
Once the match has started, the intricate planning gets put in to practice.
What’s your greatest/most memorable professional moment been, so far?
Being offered the job at Lord’s.
Where do you get your ideas?
I eat out as much as I can, look at what’s happening and put myself in the customer’s shoes.
What’s your philosophy, summed up in a sentence?
Be civil to one another, do your best, enjoy yourself and go home happy that you’ve had a good day.
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve had, how did you overcome it, and what did you learn from it?
A five day breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea event in the countryside for 600 VIP’s a day and the production kitchen working overnight in London. I knew I had to build a strong team around me and the event was a huge success. You can’t do it on your own.
Who’s the person who’s most inspired you in your work – food industry or otherwise? Is there anyone that you draw inspiration or strength from? Do you have any specific culinary influences?
As I mentioned earlier, I didn’t realise how much I had learnt in the RAF. My first boss was a man called Alfie Peach and I now know what he taught me through the way he worked. After losing contact with him for over 30 years he saw a recipe that I wrote in the Cricketer Magazine, got in touch, and we now write to each other frequently. He’s 80!
What advice would you give to aspiring professional chefs who’d want the kind of results that you’ve had?
Understand you need a good team around you. Listen to them and listen to your customers.
If you weren’t doing what you do now, what would you be doing instead?
No idea, being a chef is all I wanted to be.
If you could cook anything for anyone, anywhere you chose – who would you pick, where would you do it and what would you cook for them?
Both sets of grandparents (now deceased) at home, I’d cook whatever they wanted, so they could see what I’ve become.
What’s your ultimate aim and goal for your career? If you could achieve anything with it, what would you pick? Money and reality are no obstacle, so shoot for the moon…
Play more golf, win the Masters and cook the winner’s meal of choice. Welsh Lamb, minted Jersey Royals and English asparagus
Where next for you?
No idea, Lord’s is a hard place to beat.
And we always ask three customary ridiculous questions…
If you had a time machine that could send you backward in time as far as you wanted (without any logical paradoxes, timeline contamination, etc.) – what period of time would you visit?
Whenever whisked egg white was cooked for the first time. What sort of mind would think about separating an egg, whisking the white and cooking it?
If you had to become some kind of alcohol related superhero, which would you become, and what would you superpower be?
Jack Daniels and I’d fly.
If you were given an infinite budget but had to spend it all on entirely frivolous stuff, what are the first 3 things you’d do?
Tour the world, eating, drinking and watching all the major sporting events.