Telly chef Marcus Wareing made a devastating family confession after revealing the question his son asked him on Christmas morning. The BBC MasterChef: The Professionals judge, who ran the Michelin-starred Marcus restaurant at the Berkeley Hotel until 2023, admitted that he couldn’t worry about missing time at home with his wife and kids when work was so demanding.

Marcus retired from professional cooking two years ago, and in 2024 was able to spend the first ever full Christmas with his family. The star confessed to PA: “This is the first Christmas since I’ve been with [my wife] Jane, that I’ve not ever been involved in any kitchen or restaurant whatsoever, since day dot really. So I’m actually really looking forward to it. Normally I’m at work Christmas Day, and we’d eat at about six or seven o’clock when I got back.”

When Marcus’ children – Jake, Archie and Jessie – were young, the Christmas tradition was to wake up, open presents and eat breakfast together, before Marcus left for work at 11am. He explained: “To ask people to work, I think it’s only right that you show your face.”

Marcus doesn’t feel like he missed out on much, despite admitting: “I remember walking in one day, Jake was a little lad, and he had no clue that I had been missing for about six or seven hours. He said, ‘Why are you [in your] chef jacket? [He had been] heavily involved in his toys and telly and chocolate.”

The star added: “You don’t go into cookery, at any top level, and worry ‘Am I missing out on anything?’ – never in a million years.”

He now plans to take charge of Christmas dinner in future, despite enjoying his festive restaurant stints. He admitted it was “so much fun” working at The Savoy at Christmas “because everyone was in a good mood”. He would treat his own kitchen staff to champagne throughout their shifts, and closed up shop after lunch so his employees could go home.