TOM KERRIDGE

THE RESTAURANT trade is not for the fainthearted – any business owner emerging from the last couple of years will attest to this – but Michelin chef Tom Kerridge has never been averse to seizing an opportunity and rolling the dice.

In 2005, Kerridge and his artist wife Beth bought a rundown pub in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, and invested every penny they had in the business. The gamble paid off, and then some – within 10 months The Hand & Flowers won its first Michelin star and it’s been one of Britain’s finest gastronomic flag bearers ever since. “It was a real case of just grabbing an opportunity and running with it. Working with your other half is amazing. Sometimes it’s very hard to know the boundaries