Learning to cook changed Jon Watts’ life.
At 18, he was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in a young offenders institute – and when he was there, he learned to cook as part of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
“Learning to cook in prison meant that I had a skill that could be used in the outside world. It gave me a sense of purpose, and most importantly a belief in myself,” Watts, now 35, says.
“Imagine being lost and confused at a set of crossroads, and someone just giving you a gentle nudge towards the right road. That’s how gaining that qualification felt.”
He started working in one of Jamie Oliver’s restaurants while on day release, adding: “That’s where I fell in love with cooking.
“By the time I was actually released, I had been working there for 10 months, and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else by that point. I loved the adrenaline-fuelled environment and the passion of the people around me. I also loved how every day I was learning something new, and always getting better than I was the day before.”
Watts ended up working in Oliver’s restaurants for five years, before opening his own food truck – then going on to create more opportunities for himself, such as cooking on ITV’s This Morning.
He now has 840k followers on Instagram and 672.5k on TikTok, and he has just released his latest cookbook, Speedy Weeknight Meals.
“Cooking brings me the greatest joy,” he says simply – and if Watts was to name one signature dish, it would have to be this recipe for Thai-style chicken satay…
Jon Watts’ Thai-style chicken satay
Ingredients:
(Serves 4)
300g smooth peanut butter
200g Thai red curry paste
4tbsp soy sauce
400ml can of coconut milk
1kg skinless boneless chicken thighs
2tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil
25g coriander, chopped (optional)
Salt and black pepper
Method:
1. Put the peanut butter in a bowl with the curry paste, soy sauce and 50ml of the coconut milk. Beat until smooth.
2. Transfer two-thirds of the peanut butter mixture to a saucepan, add the remaining coconut milk and mix well.
3. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces, add it to the bowl of the remaining peanut mix and stir until it’s completely coated. Thread the chicken on to eight skewers that will fit in a large frying pan.
4. Heat the oil in the large frying pan and cook the chicken over a medium heat until golden brown all over and cooked through. (If you cut into a larger piece of chicken, the juices should run clear. If not, continue to cook for another couple of minutes, then test again.) You may need to do this in batches, depending on the size of your pan.
5. Heat up the sauce in the saucepan, taste for seasoning and adjust it if needed, then add the chopped coriander, if you like, and stir well.
6. Plate up the chicken skewers, then either pour over the satay sauce, or serve it in a bowl on the side if you prefer.
Speedy Weeknight Meals by Jon Watts is published by Bloomsbury Publishing, priced £20. Photography by Jonathan Gregson. Available now.
