Jeremy Clarkson has hit back at claims from Academy Award-nominated actress Kristin Scott Thomas that French food is better than anything we have in the UK
Jeremy has spoken up for British farmers(Image: Wiktor Szymanowicz, Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has fired back at award-winning actress Kristin Scott-Thomas after she claimed French food is superior to anything Britain has to offer, with some forthright words in defence of home-grown produce.
Appearing on Jessie and Lennie Ware’s Table Manners podcast, Kristin explained that while she was born in Cornwall, her mother was from France, and French cuisine plays a central role in her life.
She revealed that although she adores cooking while in France, she rarely spends much time in her kitchen when back in Britain, as she feels our produce simply isn’t up to scratch.
“I’m going to be brutal about it, but the produce is better in France than it is here,” she said.
However, Jeremy has leapt to the defence of British farming. Admitting he’s always had something of a soft spot for the English Patient star, he wrote in the Sunday Times: “Does Kristin think that French meat is better than British meat, because I don’t. I’m not saying theirs is worse but it’s definitely not better.”
He went on to argue that climate change has significantly boosted the quality of food crops such as tomatoes grown in the south of England, with warmer summers and milder winters allowing British winemakers to genuinely challenge their French rivals.
Dame Kristin Scott Thomas has praised French farm produce(Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images for A24)
Yet Jeremy does acknowledge one area where France has the edge — not the produce itself, but how it’s presented to shoppers: “When Kristin says the produce in France is better than it is here, she means the shopping experience is better. Which it is,” he says.
Following this week’s local elections, Jeremy has offered some guidance for councils: “Make your town’s local market day a big thing. Turn it into a weekly event, a reason for going into town.”
He argues that creating thriving farmers’ markets in every town would simply require loosening certain regulations – while rigorously enforcing one particular rule.
Jeremy thinks the UK should have more French-style food markets(Image: Getty)
He suggests that if local authorities lifted parking restrictions and bus lane rules, permitted bar and café proprietors to temporarily extend their premises onto pavements and eased restrictions on street performers, it would create a more vibrant, festival-like shopping environment.
“If it was fun to buy the food, then it’ll be more fun to cook it, which means it’ll taste better,” he says.
However, he insists that alongside his more relaxed approach to farmers’ markets, certain rules must be strictly maintained: “Only allow local people and local allotment holders selling local produce to have a stall.
If someone wants to flog second-hand telephones, or novelty sex toys, tell him to bugger off,” Jeremy suggests.
Dining and Cooking