Tom Kerridge is grinning. "The other week I had to transport something to the Kent coast via North London in a white van," he says. "I had my arm out the window, my boxer dog sat next to me in the front, and I was picking up big pieces of metal and sticking them in a transit van. I loved it - I was in my element."

You can't doubt it.

A big burr of a man, the Salisbury-born chef is all Adidas shell suits and West Country twangs, but he's just as at home in his two-star Michelin pub, The Hand And Flowers, in Marlow, and is currently celebrating his third cook book, Tom's Table.

It's all about "extracting as much flavour as possible" from food, "and making it social", he explains. "They're all recipes and dishes that I do eat, want to eat and make at home."

One of his favourites is the "phenomenal" green chilli con carne. "It's dry roasted mince, it goes really crispy - tastes fantastic," he says, going off into a reverie.

When he first started cooking, for his little brother after school, the menu was a tad less gourmet and featured a lot of fish finger sandwiches, Findus Crispy Pancakes and Birds Eye Potato Waffles.

"I don't still cook those things - that's a complete lie actually! My wife Beth was desperate for a fish finger sandwich last week, so I did make her one," he says, ruefully.

His celebrity clientele wouldn't appreciate that kind of fare though. The Hand has served Liam Neeson, Tom Jones, George Clooney and Bill Murray, although annoyingly Kerridge missed Murray. "I was absolutely gutted," he admits, adding he was with his wife in hospital after she had an operation.

They also get quite a few premier league footballers in, and Kerridge loves his football.

"A pub is part of a community and if we can help another community project like Marlow FC, then we do in any way we can," he says passionately. "Young chefs, young footballers; there's a synergy. By the age of 40, you're too tired to be doing 18-hour days cooking in the sauce section. It's the same for footballers; you're not going to be running round the pitch."

Between TV commitments, an upcoming pop-up at Harrods, the books and the pubs, it's difficult to imagine 42-year-old Kerridge slowing down.

"I work on caffeine and adrenaline," he confesses. "I'm always thinking about what we've got next. It's like, if I was still nine, I'd be riding round on bikes in the car park, getting on a skateboard and then playing on the swings!"

A big kid at heart, he might produce beautiful, world-class food, but he's definitely not averse to a bit of fun in the kitchen.

"Gimmicks are cool, if they're encouraging," he says, fully on board with new service Cheese Posties, which, as it sounds, sends you all the ingredients for a gourmet cheese toastie, by post.

"I wish I'd thought of that!" he muses. "What a nice idea. If people are getting access to really interesting cheese, and you're making it yourself, then it's encouraging you to cook something which might spur you on to make something else."

When it comes to his favourite ingredients, he narrows it down to two.

First pork, because "without pork there is no bacon", and second water: "A lot of chefs overlook water."

Not Kerridge; in fact, in another life, he'd have made water his livelihood.

"I always fancied being a fisherman on a trawler. I like the camaraderie and hard physical work.

"As a 20-year-old, I loved nothing better than doing huge hours in basement kitchens and never seeing daylight," Kerridge adds. "I absolutely loved it, the almost dig-dig attitude you have to have to get through the day, because the huge sense of achievement at the end outweighs the negativity, it's an adrenaline-filled buzz."

Then again, he is allergic to shellfish...

Here are three recipes from Tom's Table to sink your teeth into...

:: POLLOCK WITH ORANGE AND DILL

(Serves 4)

4 pollock fillets, about 250g each

Vegetable oil, for frying

Flaky sea salt

For the dressing:

3 unwaxed oranges

100ml olive oil

150ml cider vinegar

75g caster sugar

A small bunch of dill, chopped, a few sprigs saved for the garnish

2tbsp Douglas fir pine needles, chopped (optional)

For the coating:

175g coarse yellow cornmeal

40g plain flour

1tsp salt

1tsp cayenne pepper

1tsp garlic powder

For the garnish:

1 orange, peeled, all pith removed and cut into segments

First make the dressing. Pare the zest from two oranges with a vegetable peeler, keeping a little of the pith on, and cut into small chunks. Place in a small saucepan, cover with the olive oil and heat very gently over a low heat for 20 minutes, or until the skin is just soft. Take off the heat and leave to cool.

Squeeze the juice from all the oranges and put into a small pan with the cider vinegar and sugar. Bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Let it bubble to reduce by two-thirds until thickened and syrupy. Pour into a bowl and allow to cool.

Add the orange zest and olive oil mix to the orange juice reduction and whisk to combine. Stir in the chopped dill and pine needles if using, and set aside until ready to serve.

For the fish coating, mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Heat 2cm depth of oil in a deep-sided frying pan or saute pan until it reaches 180C. Use a frying thermometer to check the temperature, if you have one, otherwise, drop a cube of dry white bread into the hot oil to test it - if the bread turns golden brown in just under a minute, the oil is ready.

Dust the fish fillets on both sides with the cornmeal coating, shaking off any excess. Lay the fish in the pan and fry for two to three minutes on each side until the crust is crisp and golden brown. Using a fish slice, transfer to a tray lined with kitchen paper to drain. Season lightly with salt.

Serve the pollock fillets on warmed plates, garnished with the orange segments and dill, with the dressing spooned over.

:: GREEN CHILLI CON CARNE

(Serves 6-8)

1kg minced pork

1tbsp cumin seeds

1tsp dried thyme

2 onions, diced

4 garlic cloves, finely grated

2 green peppers, cored, deseeded and diced

8 green chillies, chopped (seeds and all)

6 ripe tomatoes, deseeded and chopped

150ml water

1/2 bunch of spring onions, trimmed and chopped

2tsp salt, or to taste

1tsp cracked black pepper

Bunch of mint, stalks removed, leaves shredded

Zest and juice of 2 unwaxed limes

To serve:

Wholemilk yoghurt

Tortillas

Green salad

Heat a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. When it's hot, add the minced pork, cumin seeds and thyme and dry-fry for 10-15 minutes, breaking up the meat and stirring frequently, until it's dry, browned and crispy.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the browned spicy meat to a bowl. Drain off any excess fat, keeping a little in the pan to cook the vegetables.

Return the pan to a medium-low heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook for about 10 minutes, until softened. Stir in the green peppers and chillies and cook for a further few minutes, then return the browned meat to the pan. Give everything a good stir and cook for another five minutes.

Pour the water into the pan, add the tomatoes and bring to the boil. Turn the heat to its lowest setting and let the chilli bubble away, uncovered, for around 15-25 minutes, until a lot of the liquid has evaporated. You want the mixture to be juicy but not too liquid and saucy.

Stir in the spring onions, salt and pepper. Finally, stir through the mint, and the lime zest and juice, and allow to bubble for a couple more minutes. Take off the heat and leave to stand for 10 minutes to let the flavours develop.

Serve with yoghurt and tortillas, with a crisp green salad on the side, if you like.

:: WHITE CHOCOLATE AND PISTACHIO BLONDIES

(Makes 16)

300g plain flour

2tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

100g shelled pistachio nuts, roughly chopped

200g white chocolate, roughly chopped

50g sesame seeds

150g butter, plus extra for greasing

300g demerara sugar

40ml rapeseed oil

40ml sesame oil

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 vanilla pod, split in half lengthways

Flaky sea salt, to finish

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. Lightly grease a 25cm square cake tin with butter and line the base and sides with non-stick baking parchment, letting some overhang the sides of the tin, to make it easier to lift out the cake later.

Put the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl and mix well/whisk to combine. Stir in the pistachios, 100g of the chocolate and the sesame seeds.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a very low heat, then add the demerara sugar, rapeseed and sesame oil, and the eggs. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod directly into the pan. Heat very gently for three to four minutes, whisking constantly, to combine and warm through - don't overheat or the eggs will curdle.

Pour the warm mixture onto the dry ingredients and whisk until thoroughly combined and the chocolate has melted. Finally, fold in the remaining chopped chocolate.

Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 25-30 minutes, until cooked through. It should be lightly golden and quite firm to the touch. If a skewer inserted into the centre comes up slightly tacky, that's fine, as it means the blondie will be nice and moist in the centre.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle on a generous pinch of flaky sea salt. Leave in the tin for 10 minutes, then lift out, peel away the parchment and place on a wire rack to cool.

Cut into squares to serve. The blondies will keep for four to five days in an airtight tin.

:: Tom's Table: My Favourite Everyday Recipes by Tom Kerridge, photography by Cristian Barnett, is published in hardback by Absolute Press, priced £25. Available now

THREE OF THE BEST... Warming apple desserts

:: Waitrose Seriously Apple Tart, £4.99 for 530g (Waitrose)

Ideal for when you're in need of faking a 'here's one I made earlier' moment. The apples are firm, flavourful and suitably drenched in cinnamon.

:: Taste the Difference Tarte Tatin, £4 for 600g (Sainsbury's)

Syrupy and warming, the caramel oozes, the pastry sticks deliciously to the roof of your mouth and you'll definitely go back for seconds - thoroughly satisfying.

:: Loved by us Bramley Apple Crumble, £2.39 for 500g (The Co-operative)

A rubbly, buttery crumble tops sweet-sharp apples in a not-too syrupy sauce. Serve with the Co-op's fresh vanilla custard and you've got a proper wintry pud.