– In The Kitchen with Damian –
by Damian Whitworth | The Times | October 16, 2024.
What does the Michelin-starred chef have in common with the A-list actor? For a start, they’ve been shouted at in their day jobs.
The booze is flowing and Damian Lewis is regaling his fellow diners with tales of the hardcore training he and his fellow actors had to undertake before filming Band of Brothers, the Second World War mini-series from 2001 created by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.
The Vietnam veteran who put them through their paces was a bit like Gordon Ramsay, he says, and he breaks into an impression of the way he was bawled out by the instructor: “Horsecock! I’m going to rip open your skull and piss on your brain, Horsecock!”
Angela Hartnett explodes with one of her loud, infectious laughs. Ramsay is a friend and mentored her when she started in his kitchens. “Very like Gordon, actually,” she confirms.
Hartnett has been cooking this evening and roped in Lewis to help with the final touches to her pumpkin risotto, allowing him to stir in the cheese. With the broadcaster Nick Grimshaw, they have already polished off old fashioneds and moved on to wine, and Lewis is comically overstating his tiny role in helping Hartnett. “It’s shameless the way she is claiming all the credit,” he says.
He starts talking about the process and refers to pouring in “water”. Hartnett corrects him. “Stock,” she says. “Thank you,” he says, taking faux offence. “Can you please make sure not to correct me again, it’s so rude.”
Read the rest of the original article at The Times