The Saturday Morning favourite says he can’t afford to be seen queueing for a bacon sandwich in Greggs, despite his Kim Johnson’s absolute ‘obsession’ with them
Celebrity chef James Martin, who became a household name through the BBC’s Saturday Kitchen, has managed to realise some of his greatest dreams thanks to his fame — learning to fly a helicopter and touring with his band, James Martin’s Midnight Ramblers.
But having a famous face also means there are some things he simply can’t do. “My other half is obsessed now with Greggs bacon sandwiches,” he explained on the Quiet Coach podcast.
“We now have to stop everywhere to get a Greggs bacon sandwich — but I went, ‘I can’t go in and get a Greggs!’” He pointed out that any celebrity queuing up in the nation’s favourite bakery would inevitably be photographed and end up in all the papers the next day.
Despite his wariness of being seen to endorse a high street bakery, James, 53, did indulge his girlfriend’s passion for bacon sarnies with a taste-test shootout.
They visited a number of popular outlets but couldn’t agree on a winner. “I said Pret won because it was properly buttered but she’s like, no, Greggs is hers, because the bacon was a little bit sweaty. She likes sweaty bacon, but anyway. She does make the best bacon sandwiches in the world, but she’s just the taste tester, and so Greggs it is.”
James has been dating 39-year-old personal trainer Kim Johnson for a shade over two years. Despite once vowing he would never marry, he reportedly popped the question at the end of last year. Kim couldn’t resist showing off the £150,000 Land Rover Defender he had presented her with alongside an engagement ring, declaring on her Instagram story that she was “speechless…”
The engagement marked a notable turnaround for James, who insisted in 2019: “Marriage doesn’t interest me in the slightest, mainly because I’ve catered for so many weddings, really.
“I admire people who do it, that’s fine, but I’m quite happy. I don’t need to spend 60 grand on a day, no, I’m more than happy thanks.”
James says that Kim has not only won his heart, she has also worked her way into his kitchen. He revealed: “My girlfriend went on a Richard Bertinet course to learn how to make bread. She had a fantastic day and came back not only as a baker, but requesting I get a new electric mixer — so I did.”
Cooking was always going to be in James’s future, he says, admitting that he never stood out academically. “I left school with no qualifications,” he told podcaster Mark Wogan.
“I’m not proud of it but I used to hate Wednesdays. Wednesday was a spelling test. I’d be in tears on a Wednesday night, I’d have 20,000 words to write because I knew that I would get every single one of them wrong.”
He added: “[I was a] massive dyslexic, never read a book in my life apart from I think Peter and Jane level B2 was probably the last one I read when I was at primary school. I just longed to be cooking and so hand in hand with being at school, I worked every weekend.”
After leaving school, James took up work experience in London before heading to Hostellerie de Plaisance in Saint-Émilion, France, to train as a chef. He later went on to work at the three-Michelin-star restaurant Maison Troisgros in Roanne.
He returned to England to work as a pastry chef at the Chewton Glen Hotel before becoming head chef at Hotel du Vin at the age of 22. His early television career saw him appearing on shows such as Ready Steady Cook and The Big Breakfast, as well as fronting James Martin: Yorkshire’s Finest.
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