Morning Stars | For British chef Marco Pierre White, the first one hour of his morning is the most crucial

Chef Marco Pierre White loves the calm of the mornings.

Note to readers: Morning Stars is a series of interviews with achievers across fields about their morning routine and how they get ready for the day ahead.

There's no question that Marco Pierre White is a very productive person. The 61-year-old legendary chef who was on a whirlwind tour of the country was dishing out interviews, recording videos and simultaneously tasting sorbet for his highly anticipated masterclass and dinner later in the evening. And he had landed in the country just a few hours earlier. White credits much of his energy to his morning routine which involves seizing the first hour of the day. He spoke to Moneycontrol on how his mornings have helped shaped his life.

Marco Pierre White was in the country for an exclusive pop-up at Four Seasons Hotel, Mumbai in association with World on a Plate. Edited excerpts from an interview:

Are you a morning person?

My most productive hour of everyday is when I wake. If I wake up at 5, I get out of bed at 6. That one hour between 5 and 6 is my most productive hour of the day. That’s when I process all my thoughts in a subconscious state. I see things very clearly and very differently. It’s quite remarkable. It’s not calculated or I don’t manufacture it. It just happens naturally. As the day progresses things get more complicated. Your thought process declines with all the distractions around you.

Chef Marco Pierre White prefers an early dinner at 6 pm.

How many hours of sleep do you need?

About four. I think as you get older it’s what the brain needs. When you are younger you are very physical. So you need more sleep because you have used more energy physically. Every night before I go to sleep I always process my thoughts to see how productive I have been on that day. So I assess myself at the end of every night. I have done that all my life.

That’s very interesting. Is there a ritual to your mornings?

I have a meeting every morning from Monday to Friday at 7 am with my builder. I have been building for years now. On the weekend, I take it a bit slower. So I may come down later and treat myself to a documentary. I look at documentaries in the same way that people read books. I process information better when it’s visual. It could be anything — travel, nature, Third Reich — anything that catches my imagination at 7 o’clock in the morning. These days I have been watching my old friend Anthony Bourdain.

What about breakfast?

I don’t do breakfast. I may have a cup of cup. I eat now to live, not to grow! On the rare occasion that I do have a breakfast it’s generally a bacon sandwich. That tends to be spontaneous rather than planned. I like fruits in the morning.

The truth is I fill upon tea. I have four-five cups of tea in the morning. I think tea is rather nutritional. There are so many posh teas out there but I like Yorkshire tea. It has a lot of flavour. Sadly, most people don’t know how to make a good tea. They make very bad tea.

How do you make your tea?

I take some milk in my mug, add two tea bags. Then I pour boiling water and stir it until I get the colour I want. Then I drop a wedge of lemon in it. I like it strong, no sugar and with flavour.

What was breakfast like when you were a child?  

As a child I had to have breakfast everyday. During the week it was always cereal. But on weekends it used to be a cooked breakfast. I loved poached eggs on toast.

Do you eat breakfast when you are travelling?

I do sometimes. When I come to India I like to have a dosa. But most days I go straight to lunch. Today I had the most delicious lunch of biryani with a little bit of yogurt on the side. It was cooked beautifully. As I get older I like simple things. I haven’t had a glass of wine in years. Interestingly I started drinking at the age of 41. When I used to have wine I never had pudding. Now that I don’t have the wine I have a pudding or an ice cream. So I used to have my sugar in the form of wine (laughs). Also, I don’t eat after work. It affects my sleep. So I have an early dinner at 6 pm. Isn’t that weird?

How do you consume your news?

I don’t watch the news or read the newspaper. I only got told about COVID-19 coming back on a phone call this morning. Otherwise I wouldn’t know. I live in the English countryside and step out only to travel. I am always working, don’t do holidays.

Is there a particular music you tend to listen to in the mornings?

I like classical music. I like Elvis (Presley) a lot. He’s an extraordinary singer. I watched his movie (Elvis, 2022, by director Baz Luhrmann) and it was amazing. He seemed like a nice man. Very controlled by that colonel played by Tom Hanks. I like Tom Hanks. He’s a very good actor.