Tom Kime has issued the following apology in response to the complaints received after he was heard swearing on Saturday Kitchen:
“Having worked for some of the most notoriously foulmouthed, abusive and violent chefs as a young man, I made a conscious decision. When I was punched and kicked and had hot pans and plates thrown at me, I decided that would not be me. I would never abuse the trust of someone who wanted to learn from me. I would never raise my voice, stamp my feet and madly hop about, and I would definitely not take out my anger or frustration on someone else. Instead I have always tried to keep my head, and calmly deal with the situation. I am proud of the fact that I am not a shouting egotistical chef who revels in the abuse of their staff. However I feel that I have let the public and myself down, by being tarred with the same brush as some of the bullies.
Kitchens are fast moving highly charged environments. Throw into the mix lots of heat, emotions, integrity, perfection and ego and you have quite a volatile cocktail. As an observer you are never going to hear the head chef politely ask for the soup for table 2. However the abuse of anyone, whether staff or members of the public, is completely unacceptable, unnecessary and degrades the industry. Chefs often swear, and I am not separate from the crowd. When I do swear however, I aim it at an inanimate object, like the oven, pan or in this case the omelette. I have and do genuinely apologise for this mistake that I made, of swearing on live daytime television. I had no intention of causing offence and am mortified that I did, as I thought I was swearing under my breath. I understand of course even that is not acceptable on daytime television.
I am aware that children watch the program. I am saddened by my actions as I have spent a lot of time teaching children and enjoy inspiring young people to uncover their love of food. Food is about love, life and generosity, and I hope to move on from this incident and continue to inspire that love and joy in all the people that I teach.”
Tags: chef presenters
