George Ward has become fed up with the poor food on offer during his travels but now he has an answer
Words by Daniel White
It may look like it’s all glitz and glamour, yet, life on the road touring has its down sides.
Expensive restaurants, crappy takeaways and poor room service are just some of the issues that led George Ward, or George Egg as he is better known, to be The Anarchist Cook.
“It is me cooking on stage and it’s going to be a three-course meal over an hour, all cooked on hotel equipment,” he begins. “At the end of it everyone can come up to the stage and there will be three plates of really good looking food that’s all been made without using kitchen equipment.”
From kettle-cooked Sea Bass to Ricotta Quenelles made using UHT milks, Ward has perfected the art of cooking with limited utensils.
“I’m really looking forward to it as I’ve just been doing the comedy circuit and this is a bit more theatrical, a bit more of a show,” he smiles. “It’s me being very honest, talking about the things I’ve done.”
So what has he done?
“My history is that I started doing street art years ago as a teenager in London and then I drifted indoors and started doing stand-up clubs and it’s just gone from there; I did my first paid gig when I was 19 and I’m 41 now,” Ward reflects.
Despite more than two decades in the comedy industry, this will be Ward’s first solo show in the Brighton Fringe Festival and he offered some advice to those thinking about beginning a career in stand-up.
He says: “Perform as much as you can and be as creative as you can. Don’t do what you think people will find funny, do what you find funny because there will always be an audience out there who have got the same sort of humour as you and you’ll be a more satisfied performer if you’re doing what you think is funny.”
George Ward will perform his show George Egg: Anarchist Cook at Upstairs at Three at Ten on 12th, 14th, 15th May.
