Former Saturday Kitchen chef James Martin shares touching childhood memory of grandmother’s toy Ferrari gift that sparked a dream he fulfilled years later on Yorkshire roads
James Martin opened up on an emotional family incident(Image: PA)
Celebrity chef James Martin has shared an emotional memory from his childhood, admitting “I never thought it would happen” as he reflected on a poignant family holiday experience.
Today, the 53 year old stands as one of Britain’s most recognisable culinary figures, hosting his own Saturday morning programme and boasting appearances on Saturday Kitchen, This Morning and The One Show.
However, his journey began far more modestly, with a simple present from his grandmother igniting an ambition he believed would forever remain unfulfilled.
Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio, the chef described how he progressed from owning a miniature Ferrari to driving the genuine article, explaining why a Bryan Adams track became the inaugural song played in his sports car.
He disclosed that one of the Canadian singer’s classics evoked memories of a family getaway he embarked upon aged 12
James recalled how he and his relatives would drive on a specific stretch of Yorkshire road known as the Hole of Horcum, connecting Pickering to Whitby.
He elaborated: “It’s a big hole and the steam train comes through it from Pickering. It’s quite a famous place and it’s a beautiful road. And when I was about 12 years old we went on holiday to the River Thames, because that’s as far as we got on holiday.”
The chef continued: “We stopped at this toy shop and my grandmother bought me this little toy Ferrari. And I’ve got that Ferrari in my garage and that track was the first thing I wanted to play on that bit of road in that car when I was 27 years old.
“And it was played in 1984 and it was played in an old stereo in that little Fiat one day dreaming that I would be driving that road. Never thought it would happen.”
This revelation follows comments from two recent guests on James’s programme, who shared a crucial rule that all participants must observe. Farming duo Robert and David Nicholson, well-known from their roles on Springtime on the Farm and The Yorkshire Vet, featured on the cookery show in 2025.
James Martin (Image: Getty Images)
During an episode of The Cannon Hall Farm podcast, the siblings shared their experience of meeting James in the barbecue section, where they discovered his strict approach to the cooking process.
David recalled: “And then we went out to the barbecue area where we met James. We sat down and then it was…”, while Robert elaborated that James outlined “idea of what we were going to do”.
Robert went on to explain: “But basically, once he started cooking, right, he didn’t want interrupting. It was going to flow from there, and we were going to make it work.”
