EXCLUSIVEI quit my 60 hours-a-week job as a chef and flipped a house so I could live my dream of cooking my way around Europe
- Matt Pritchard says old life of serving 400 roast dinners a day is distant memory
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A top chef who spent much of his career working 60-hour weeks has revealed how he swapped the rat race to cook his way through Europe in a motorhome.
Matt Pritchard, originally from Surrey, first began working in demanding professional kitchens when he was just 14-years-old.
After starting at the bottom, he worked his way up and for the final 13 years of his career, was head chef at various gastropubs around London.
However, as the hours clocked up and he was faced with sky-high bills in the nation's capital, the 44-year-old decided to quit and move abroad where he has adopted a slower pace of living.
Matt and his fiancée Eve, also 44, now travel across the continent in their campervan, where they experience new cultures and cuisines - with Matt cooking dinner each night inspired by where they are in the world.
Matt Pritchard, originally from Surrey, has been working in demanding kitchens in various pubs and restaurants since he was 14 years old. Above: Matt pictured with his fiancée Eve
Matt admits that he doesn't use recipes, he just cooks what he finds along the way. Above: Brie cheese on a lentil salad with smoked fennel
Matt shares a picture of a steamed caramel and apple cake that he made in his motorhome
Matt whipped up a smoked mackerel and egg salad in his small but effective kitchen
The chef revealed he rarely plans out his recipes; rather he is inspired by the ingredients he finds on his travels.
He has travelled to and lived in Holland, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Germany and Luxembourg in the past three years.
Along with this, some of his top dishes include braised beef blade in a red wine sauce, potato cakes with organic eggs in a mustard beurre blanc and a Polish dish called Potrawka, which is a chicken dish with lemon sauce.
Speaking about his new lifestyle, he told Femail: 'I feel more free than I've ever felt in my life. If I had a house now, I'd have no money again and I'd just be going to work, coming home and it feels like you're stuck on this loop and you get off when you're 65.
'It's a very challenging lifestyle, it's very different after being in the system your whole life.
'A lot of people look at the van life because it is freedom. It is real freedom to be anywhere. It's less stressful than working.'
Matt and Eve have travelled to and lived in Holland, Belgium, France , Spain , Italy , Austria, Germany and Luxembourg in the past three years
Matt bought the motorhome for £40,000 with leftover money from profit he made on a property. Above: The seating area of the motorhome along with the driver and passenger seats
When he was living in England, Matt's expenditure was around £2,500 a month for his mortgage and bills.
But in 2017, Matt made the decision to sell his house in England and move abroad, concerned about the prospect another financial crash was on the horizon after the 2008 crisis.
He then travelled to Holland - where Eve's parents are from - and saw an opportunity to flip a house that was being sold by the local council and needed work.
The chef, who documents his new lifestyle on Instagram, bought the property for £62,100 before doing it up and selling it on for £142,200 two years later - a profit of just over £80,000.
Matt then bought his motorhome just before Covid-19 hit in 2020 for £40,000 and says it was the best decision he made because his costs to run it are now very low.
Matt bought his motorhome in 2020 and says it was the best decision he made because his costs to run it are now very low. Above: The bedroom which has a double bed in it
Matt enjoys exploring different places in Europe and finding new dishes to whip up in his kitchen (pictured)
When he was living in England, Matt's expenditure was around £2,500 a month for his mortgage and bills
Matt shares all his dishes online via his Instagram account, here he has made a braised beef blade dish in a red wine sauce
Matt's mobile home only costs him £200 a month to run, meaning that it is much cheaper than rent in London
His mobile costs just £200 a month to run, meaning he has a much bigger budget for purchasing ingredients to experiment with different dishes.
'I don't have any income, I made all my money from [the] property. I made a lot and I'm very frugal. I have no bills because this lifestyle [costs] nothing.
'You think of all the money you spend on your home, all those bills, utilities, internet, when I was living in England ten years ago I was paying £2,500. I can live even better than that now for £500 a month this way.'
During his time working in London, Matt said the job was very challenging and hard and the hours were long, a stark contrast to how he lives his life now.
'I had real problems maintaining and retaining staff and I was running quite busy kitchens and you need to have a full team and I was always one down,' he said.
'In London you had people chipping in, chipping out and obviously, these pubs are crazy busy and you have to be a certain character to be able to deal with the stress - you need to be able to keep cool and calm.'
Sometimes the chef found himself serving 400 people who wanted roast dinners on Sundays when he was trying to manage a small team.
'The hours were long. For a chef, it says the job is 40 hours a week but it's 60 really [because] there are always extra parties and extra functions.'
Now he sits back and enjoys buying local food and cooking dishes from the region he is staying in, at his own leisure.
Many may wonder how Matt is able to make a huge range of dishes. The answer is a very small but organised dry store.
He has numerous tubs of spices and herbs that stack on top of each other so he can have the freedom to make whatever dish comes to mind.
'I don't keep too much of certain stock. If I buy a really good bag of flour, I will use it the entire week, it won't sit in the cupboard for months.
'I will keep turning over the stock and rotating it as I buy it. I never waste anything unless something goes wrong.
'It is possible in a small space and maybe it will give people inspiration to try [cooking]. Anything is possible.'
He said: 'My passion lies with being in a place and cooking something that is from that region with those ingredients.
'Sitting there next to the vineyard, drinking the wine in the food that is still from that region. There's, there's something more to the food when you eat it.
'If I was to make a local dish in the south of France and I make it in the right pot, and I'm sitting outside and drinking the wine by the vineyard, there's something magical about eating, It's not just mundane.
'You wake up and you can be looking out the window and there's mountains and the next day you're somewhere completely different on a lake.
'That in itself is inspiring. I think it's motivating as well, it builds character.'
The chef believes he has inherited the travelling bug from his family, who also enjoy exploring different cuisines around the world.
However, he has faced family tragedy while living on the road - especially during the pandemic when he could not return home to see his father, who was shielding with lung disease. Sadly, he passed away.
'He died very slowly over a long period of time, which was quite hard,' Matt said.
Matt said he has been looking for another house to buy in France with his mother as it was always his father's dream to live abroad, but sadly he didn't live to see the dream realised.
The motorhome is small but has everything the couple needs. Above: The bathroom in the vehicle
Matt recently lost his beloved chocolate Labrador named Hunter, who he says was the 'best, most friendly dog and was loved everywhere he went' (pictured on their bed)
Matt made some potato cakes with an egg on top followed by mustard beurre blanc
Despite having a lack of room in the motorhome, Matt always manages to find space to hang pasta he's made from scratch
Gourmand! A duck breast with cherry sauce and steamed asparagus dis
Matt's fiancée Eve lives in the motorhome with him and they both travel around Europe to explore different cultures together
Matt says that being able to go anywhere you want is freedom. Above: The motorhome's bathroom
He also recently lost his beloved chocolate Labrador named Hunter, who he says was the 'best, most friendly dog and was loved everywhere he went'.
'I went through one of the worst periods of my life and only recently getting back on my feet. He was my world for 13 years and I loved him with all my heart.
'He made the journey what it was and it will never be the same again without him.'
As Matt looks to the future, Matt has plans to open a website where he will share his recipes.
He hopes that this will motivate others to get into the kitchen and try their hand at cooking, recreating his recipes.
Matt believes this will help him gather extra income so he will therefore be able to sustain his lifestyle, rather than just living off his savings.
Matt moved to Holland for a while and bought a house for around £62,000 and did it up. Above: One of the main living rooms of the home before renovation
Matt did the house - which was being sold by the local council - up for a high profit. Above: The living room after renovation
The whole house needed a refresh, hence why it was going cheap. Above: Left, the bathroom before, right, the bathroom after renovation
Matt managed to see the project through and sold the house for £142,200 two years after he bought it
Matt made a whopping £80,000 profit from the sale, which allowed him to buy the motorhome. Above: The kitchen after the work was done
The bedroom of the house in Holland was a blank canvas and needed work doing to it. Above: One of the bedrooms
The British chef took on the challenge, did the house up and earned a large profit. Above: The new bedroom
His advice to anyone looking to quit their jobs, sell their homes and live remotely is to understand that there are two different lifestyles.
He said: 'You've just got to be honest with yourself.
'I think you've got to be realistic. When you leave your foundation, your house, your friends, your family, your community things that you've built up like your relationships, you lose them a little bit because you're not in the loop anymore.
'I still check on my friends but I'm not down the pub with them. You miss out on your family and your home life.
'But on the flip side, you get the adventure, you get something for yourself and then when you go back you've got something to share with other people as well.'
Matt now has plans to grow his social media accounts and eventually open a website where he shares all of his recipes
Matt made a Polish dish called Potrawka, which is a chicken dish with a lemon sauce
Matt is smart with storage in his motorhome and uses his boot to store the bikes so he and Eve can go on scenic bike rides
Exclusive recipes that Matt has shared with MailOnline
Top chef Matt was near the Savoie region in France when he explored the local dishes in the area.
This particular one is called 'La Croziflette' and he has included the more traditional meat recipe and a unique vegetarian version.
La Croziflette Legumes
Crozets de Savoie are small, square pasta shapes traditionally made with rich egg buckwheat pasta dough.
The pasta is cooked al'dente and then mixed with spring onion, leek, mushroom, asparagus, sun-dried tomato and grilled pepper, Comte cheese & creme fraiche.
It is then placed into a dish, topped with reblochon cheese and grilled until golden and bubbling.
The finished dish La Croziflette Legumes, that Matt has shared exclusively with MailOnline
This apline dish 'La Croziflette' is similar to the other well-known dish of the French Alps Tartiflette, which uses potato instead of pasta.
Here I have removed the traditional meat elements, creating an equally delicious and rich version using the vegetables.
These rich, creamy delicious dishes are the perfect meal after a long hike or after a day skiing in the mountains.
I had mine with a simple tomato salad but any green salad would also be perfect.
The pasta is readily available online and this dish never fails to satisfy. It is pure comfort food at its finest and another great example of fine French regional food but reinvented with a more modern plant-based mindset.
What Matt used
250g Buckwheat & normal Crozet pasta
6 Asparagus, peeled & blanched for one minute
6 Button mushrooms, sliced
100ml Macon Chardonnay white wine
2 Spring onions
1 Finely diced garlic glove
A pinch of herbs de Provence
1 Tbsp finely chopped flat parsley
200ml Creme fraiche (40 per cent fat)
200g Croises tartiflette cheese, sliced
50g Comte cheese (12 months old)
2 Tbsp reserved pasta water
1 Tbsp Edmond Fallot Tarragon mustard
Telicherry black pepper
3 Bay leaves
1 Grilled pepper, peeled, seeded and dried
50g Sun-dried tomatoes drained and diced
What you could use
250g small Marconi, small shells or Orzo
4 to 6 white asparagus stalks
4 to 6 chestnut mushrooms
100ml Pinot Blanc, Gris, Aligote or Chablis
One finely diced small onion or shallot
Garlic is optional
Pinch of dried thyme
One tbsp finely chopped chives, basil or dill
Double cream or Creme fraiche (30 per cent fat)
200g Reblochon, Pie d'Angloys or Brie
50g Gruyere, Raclette, Cantal or Gouda
Dijon, wholegrain or English mustard
2 Tbsp hot water
Any freshly ground black pepper
Sprig of rosemary or sage leaves
100g grilled peppers in oil in a jar
50g piquillo peppers from a jar
Method (serves 2, cooking time 15 minutes, oven 200c)
1. Cook the pasta in boiling water until al-dente or according to the instructions from the packet
2. Drain the pasta and reserve a few tablespoons of the pasta water for later
3. While the pasta is cooking, sweat the spring onion, leek, bay leaves and herbs in a teaspoon of butter and olive oil in a heavy-based frying pan on medium heat until translucent for five minutes
4. Add the garlic and sweat for another minute
5. Add the mushrooms and cook for a couple of minutes until they soften
Sweat the spring onion, leek, bay leaves and herbs in a teaspoon of butter and olive oil in a heavy based frying pan on medium heat
Layer up the pasta with the blanched asparagus and place into a deep dish
6. Add the wine and reduce until nearly evaporated, remove from the heat and discard the bay leaves and any herb springs
7. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, diced peppers, flat parsley, a teaspoon of mustard and creme fraiche
8. Add the drained pasta, mixing until combined and add one to two tablespoons of the pasta water if needed to help create a smooth consistency
9. Layer up the pasta with the blanched asparagus
11. Put in the oven for 10 minutes at 200c
12. Then place into a hot grill until bubbling and golden
13. Let it rest before serving and then enjoy
La Croziflette Savoyarde
Crozets de Savoie are small square pasta shapes, traditionally made with rich egg buckwheat pasta dough.
The pasta is cooked al'dente and mixed with charcuterie like bacon lardons, Morteau or Didot sausages, Jambon cru Savoie smoked ham and creme fraiche.
It is then placed into a dish topped with reblochon cheese and grilled until it is golden and bubbling.
The finished dish La Croziflette Savoyarde, that Matt has shared exclusively with MailOnline
This alpine dish 'La Croziflette' is similar to the other well-known dish of the French Alps Tartiflette, which uses potato instead of pasta.
These rich, creamy delicious dishes are the perfect meal after a long hike or after a day skiing in the mountains.
I had mine with a simple tomato salad but any green salad would also be perfect or some steamed greens on the side would be perfect.
The pasta is readily available online and this dish never fails to satisfy. It is pure comfort food at its finest.
What Matt used
250g Buckwheat and normal crozet pasta
100g Smoked bacon lardons
150g Diced Morteau or Diot sausages
100g Foret Noir Jambon cru smoked ham
100ml Macon Chardonnay white wine
1 Finely diced garlic clove
Pinch of herbs de Provence
One Tbsp finely chopped flat parsley
200ml Creme fraiche (40 per cent fat)
200g Croises tartiflette cheese, sliced
50g Comte cheese (12 months old)
1 Tbsp Edmond Fallot Tarragon mustard
2 Tbsp reserved pasta water
Telicherry black pepper
3 Bay leaves
What you could use
250g small macaroni pasta, small shells or Orzo
100g plain or streaky bacon or pancetta
150g Of any cooked and smoked sausage
100g Parma, Serrano or Black Forest ham
100ml Pinot Blanc, Gris Aligote or Chablis
1 Finely diced onion, leek or spring onion
Garlic is optional
Pinch of dried thyme
1 Tbsp finely chopped chives, basil or dill
Double cream
200g Reblochon, Pie d'Angloys or Brie
50g Gruyere, Raclette, Cantal, Gouda
Dijon, wholegrain or English mustard
2 Tbsp hot water
Any freshly ground black pepper
Sprig of rosemary or sage leaves
Method (serves 2, cooking time 20-30 minutes, oven 200c)
1. Cook the pasta in boiling water until al'dente or according to the instructions on the packet.
2. Drain the pasta, reserving a few tablespoons of the pasta water
3. While the pasta is cooking, saute the bacon lardons in a heavy-based frying pan until lightly golden. Add the shallot and bay leaves, dried or fresh herbs if using and a tablespoon of butter and cook on medium heat for five minutes
Cook the pasta in boiling water until al'dente or according to the instructions on the packet
Saute the bacon lardons in a heavy based frying pan until lightly golden and add the shallot and bay leaves, dried or fresh herbs and a tablespoon of butter ans cook on a medium heat for five minutes
4. Add the wine and reduce until it is nearly evaporated
5. Add the Morteau sausage and cook for two minutes
6 Remove from the heat
7. Remove the bay leaf and any herb sprigs
8. Add the hot pasta, mixing until combined
9. Add the creme fraiche, mustard, Comte and reserved pasta water, mix lightly until combined, creamy and emulsified, season with black pepper
10. Layer the pasta with the smoked ham
11. Top generously with slicked reblochon cheese
12. Put in the oven for 10 minutes at 200c
13. Then place under a hot grill until bubbling and golden
14. Let it rest for a few minutes before serving and enjoy
