BBC Masterchef presenter Gregg Wallace sparks online debate after sharing ‘bizarre’ 5am Saturday regime and love for a Harvester
Published: 17:30, 06 February 2024
Updated: 19:04, 06 February 2024
MasterChef's Gregg Wallace has sparked debate online after revealing his “bizarre” Saturday routine with some branding it “magnificently Partridgian”.
The TV personality, who resides in the Kent countryside with his young family, lifted the lid on his curious weekend activities in a national newspaper column.
But the self-confessed fitness fanatic left readers scratching their heads as to whether it was parody or not with his musings trending on X, formerly Twitter.
The father-of-three had elaborated on his typical 5am Saturday schedule in a column for The Telegraph.
Gregg, originally from London, first moved to the county when he pitched up at Whitstable but now resides in Biddenden, near Tenterden .
In a pattern which some readers say mirrors Steve Coogan's comedy character, Alan Partridge, former greengrocer Gregg says he kicks off each day of the week, including Saturdays, by waking at 5am and reading, which, at the moment, entails immersing himself in A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles.
He then follows this up by making a coffee and checking emails, before embarking on his rigorous workout of getting to the gym half-an-hour before it opens so he can have a swim and sauna on his own.
Writing in his column, Gregg says he will then "review my to-do list while walking on a treadmill - no sweating," as he aims to hit 50,000 steps a week, or 7,000 a day, to maintain his five-stone weight loss, six-pack and 18% body fat composition.
At 10.30am, the media personality, who previously dined at the Harvester eatery in Herne Bay, then makes a trip to one of the company's restaurants to meet his PA Helen for breakfast, with bacon, sausage and egg all filling his plate.
Gregg, who says he has "never been disappointed in a Harvester" then spends the time managing his well being podcast - A Piece of Cake - "having been journalling, manifesting, goal-setting and reading self-help books for years”.
Barely an hour after sitting down for breakfast, the presenter then insists he will then eat his lunch back at home with his family at midday - with "white bean soup with a crust of bread a family favourite”.
As he reaches mid-afternoon, the uninterrupted Saturday doesn't stop there for the Kent homeowner - as he takes time out of his schedule to relax with his four-year-old son, Sid, who is non-verbal autistic. The media star admits the two will chill in their garden and play with their pooches, Wally and Bella.
The "amateur historian" acknowledges his 3pm time is spent in his home office playing video game, Total War saga: Thrones of Britannia, where the following hours involve the Good Food author playing the 878AD-setting console edition on his computer.
Yet as the evening begins to take shape, the day is not finished yet. With his wife Anna cooking lunch, Gregg admits he makes tea for the family on Saturdays.
After declaring he "never eats takeaways now," the meal consists of grilled fish from Hartley Farm Shop in Cranbrook, or sometimes one of his own healthy cheeseburgers instead.
He says his day reaches its climax at 8pm where he and his wife will read or watch a film on his laptop, before they hit the sack one hour later.
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Joe Harbert