Jeremy Clarkson, who became a household name thanks to his stint on BBC's Top Gear, purchased a 1,000-acre plot of land in Oxfordshire for farming, now called Diddly Squat Farm, with his farming attempts captured in the Amazon Prime Video series Clarkson's Farm. In The Times, Clarkson wrote about his cooking struggles, admitting he struggles with cooking but has taught himself the rudiments recently. He has excellent ingredients available due to his farming venture.
Clarkson attempted to make a bechamel sauce, with his first attempt going surprisingly well and his second resembling an amputated testicle. He initially blamed the Diddly Squat Farm Aga for his cooking problems but conceded the problem might lie with himself. To test his skills, Clarkson picked up a rib of beef from his local butcher and cooked it in a £20,000 Rational oven at The Farmer's Dog pub, which he opened in 2024.
Could it be that some people simply can't cook? I know I can't do DIY or gardening, and I'd have no clue how to mend an engine, so maybe the dark art of making food hot is just another one of those things that's beyond me.
The beef came out perfect, leading Clarkson to joke he needed a foolproof oven. He has since made a pho with star anise, a bruschetta, and a pork and black pepper dish. However, Clarkson struggles to cook Chinese food, with his stir-fried beef slivers coming out like burnt matches.
He watches Chinese recipes on TikTok and buys high-quality oyster and soy sauces and an expensive wok. Clarkson attempted to find someone to give him lessons in cooking Chinese food but branded the Cotswolds famously racist. Reflecting on his limitations, Clarkson said, 'Could it be that some people simply can't cook?
But I do struggle whenever I try to make something Chinese. I watch the recipes on TikTok and buy high-quality oyster and soy sauces. I even have an expensive wok, but whenever I try to stir-fry slivers of beef, they always come out of the pan looking like burnt matches.