Saturday Kitchen star Matt Tebbutt has revealed the tough decision he and his wife made to give up one of their passions after it became too "relentless". The BBC TV chef and wife Lisa ran the Foxhunter Inn in Monmouthshire, Wales, for 14 years. At the same time Matt was doing a lot of TV work and eventually the couple were forced to give up the pub after getting burned out.
He told the Western Mail: "It was a very different sort of relentless business. We didn't take a break. "I was juggling TV and the restaurant for quite some time, and then reached the point where I didn't think it was sustainable.
I was knackered. "Little country pubs, as lovely as they are, and everyone wants them on their doorstep, they've got to be supported because they're bloody hard work to keep going." Matt, who has been married to Lisa for 25 years and has two kids with her, said a lot of the recipes in his new cook book, Pub Food, were influenced by the local produce of Monmouthshire and what they used to serve on the pub's menu.
But he admits he is quite bleak about the prospects of local pubs in the UK with a lot of businesses having a "really s*** time" at the moment. The 50-year-old added: "They are struggling, the prices are going through the roof, energy costs, food costs, staffing. "It's all hindering the growth - they're shutting by stupid numbers per week.
It's something worth trying to save. "People need to remember that they're not always going to be there. And if you've got a good one.