Inside the life of MasterChef's Marcus Wareing from feud with Gordon Ramsay to family home

TV chef and star Marcus Wareing is back on our screens in the latest series of MasterChef: The Professionals.

Marcus, alongside Monica Galetti and Greg Wallace, is watching over the latest batch of chefs on the BBC One series as they look to crown the country's best chef.

The 54-year-old from Southport has built a successful career as a chef and media personality. He used to own his Michelin starred restaurant Marcus as well as take charge at numerous other restaurants.

During his cooking days, Marcus built up a rapport and partnership with Gordon Ramsay until their relationship came to a crashing halt over a legal battle about their restaurant.

But what do we know about Marcus Wareing's life outside of TV and the kitchen?

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Early life and career of Marcus Wareing

Born in Southport on June 29, 1970, the chef was raised in Lancashire. His dad, who was a fruit and potato merchant, worked with schools to provide produce for school dinners and Marcus would help his father.

Marcus discovered he had a natural talent for cooking at Stanley High School. He went on to attend Southport College, where he took a three-year City & Guilds course in catering and later left for London in the 1980s.

Aged 18, Wareing first worked as a commis chef at the Savoy Hotel under chef Anton Edelmann in 1988.

He went onto work with Gordon Ramsay at Petrus, at 33 St James Street, and later Marco Pierre White. He became one of the most respected British chefs of his generation.

The 54-year-old has had critical acclaim and even earned a coveted Michelin star during his career.

The Masterchef judge remains proud of his ordinary background in Southport. Renowned for his work ethic and perfectionism, Marcus sometimes eats in at Bistro Verite when back in the town.

Marcus's brother Brian runs a catering business in Southport, and nephew Thomas is head chef at Dolce Vita in Ainsdale.

Inside Marcus Wareing's feud with Gordon Ramsay

After time spent at Gravetye Manor, Marcus joined up with Gordon Ramsay at his Aubergine restaurant where he was again appointed the sous chef.

The two celebrity chefs worked together for 15-years with Wareing considered Ramsay's protégé - Ramsay was even the best man at Marcus' wedding in 2000 and is the godfather to his eldest son.

But their friendship all ended in a heated feud with the two men scarcely speaking since.

In 1999, Wareing and Ramsay opened Pétrus, with Wareing as head chef. The restaurant quickly earned a Michelin star, and in 2003 moved to the Berkeley Hotel, where it eventually gained a second star.

But by 2008, Wareing wanted to go solo and take over the Pétrus lease at the Berkeley, which led to a public feud and legal battle. After the dispute, Ramsay kept the Pétrus name, while Wareing opened Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley.

In an interview with British GQ several years ago, Marcus admitted he began the feud. It is believed the only time they have spoken since was at a 10 Downing Street when a selection of famous foodies was invited to meet former Prime Minister David Cameron.

"At the end of the day, Gordon tries to leave first then I go, and as they are holding the front door we end up meeting in the long corridor downstairs, just us two, face-to-face," he told British GQ.

"We pass one another, shake hands, say, ‘Hello,’ and that’s it - no smiles - surreal, actually."

However their feud appears to have ended after Gordon Ramsay recently sent him a gift with a personal message.

Marcus admitted: “He sent me a beautiful book not that long ago from his restaurant group that I really was appreciative of and he wrote a fabulous message in it. And so whatever happens in the past it’s water under the bridge. We’ve all moved on.”

Hanging up his apron

Earlier this year, Marcus Wareing decided to hang up his apron after 35 years in the kitchen.

The TV chef made the decision after celebrating Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley Hotel, in Knightsbridge, London, last year and now says he has no plans to return to cooking.

“I don’t need to open another restaurant. I’ve done a lot. Since the age of 25, I’ve been dealing with chefs and rotas and suppliers and bills and accounts and HR and customers and complaints.

“It’s been fabulous. But do I want to do it for ever? No chance. I don’t want to continue on the same boring path. I wanted a change in my life and to do different things,” he told The Times.

How Marcus Wareing met his wife and inside his family life

The star was only 22 years old when he first met now-wife Jane while he was working as a sous chef at the four-star Sussex hotel, Gravetye Manor, and she was hired as the front-of-house manager.

Marcus was determined to make sure she would understand his job was to remain at the top of his priority list before jumping into lifelong commitment. He waited for years before popping the question and, as she works in the same industry, it wasn't difficult for Jane to accept his plans.

Marcus received Jane's full support when he headed to London restaurant Aubergine as the pair kept the relationship alive with the chef travelling out to Sussex every Sunday to spend time with his other half - a commute he carries on to this day for his work engagements.

Years later, he recalled to The Telegraph: "I didn't ask her to marry me until I really knew that she was right for what I want. Jane understood my industry.

"She got who I was and never put pressure on me to be anything else. I had a free reign."

The pair walked down the aisle in 2000, after seven years of romance, in the presence of Marcus' then-pal and best man Gordon Ramsay.

Since then, the pair's love story has led them to a professional collaboration as Jane has been the director of Marcus Wareing Restaurants, a company including establishments in the likes of MARCUS, The Gilbert Scott and Tredwell's, since September 2008.

The lovebirds also share three rarely-seen children, Jake, who is Gordon Ramsay's godson, Archie, and Jessie. Although he mostly keeps the lid on his family life, a proud Marcus took to Instagram in July, 2023, to announce that his eldest son Jake had graduated from Durham University.

Marcus made the announcement through a family snap showing the lad smiling in his graduation gown, between his elated parents. "So proud of this man I can’t quite believe university Is done congratulations @jake.wareing", the chef penned in his caption, adding: "You make the whole family so proud."

Inside Marcus Wareing's home life

Marcus Wareing has had a busier life than most, but despite his hectic life, Marcus says he is "a totally different person" at his East Sussex home where he is able to "relax".

Inside his home, the modern home with rustic décor features a spotless kitchen with white French doors, grey cupboards, wooden floors and a large dark wooden kitchen table where the couple enjoy their delicious homemade meals.

From the kitchen, the family enjoy the views of the gorgeous outside area - the beautiful back garden includes a duck pond, 11 beehives, an orchard with crabapples and a paddock.

The minimal house is immaculate as Marcus is a clean freak, his wife Jane once admitted during an interview. Jane explained: "Years ago, when he was home late every night, I’d have to make sure his route through the house was clear of clutter."

Viewers got a glimpse of his home in his BBC series Tales from a Kitchen Garden. The show details his experiences with producing his own food and vegetables, and then turning them into delicious meals.

The BBC series is mainly filmed in the garden and in a makeshift kitchen on the property's beautiful terrace. Here, the chef has wooden shelves where he places all his fresh and organic ingredients.

In October 2019, Danko Carvajal-Donaire, 24, Claudio Donoso, 24, Nicolas Portilla Astorga, 31, and Jorge Rojas, 26, broke into the Michelin-starred restaurateur’s £5m home in Wimbledon.

The burglars stole a number of watches, including a gold Rolex and another engraved with “Hell’s Kitchen”, the court was told. They also took jewellery belonging to Wareing’s wife, including bracelets, earrings, gold chains and a £1,500 Cartier watch.

The men admitted conspiring together to trespass with intent to steal after they were caught days after the raid, on the way to another burglary. Rojas was wearing a pendant stolen from Wareing’s home when they were stopped by police.

In January 2020, the four Chilean burglars were sentenced to more than three years in prison each.