Nick Frost takes his own cutlery on holiday. No, really. The 53-year-old actor and amateur chef says he doesn’t trust the kitchen setups in most Airbnbs, so he brings his own gear, especially a proper knife.
On the Dish by Waitrose podcast with Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett, he explained, “I mean, I try not to. But sometimes it’s better to have one [a knife] and not use it than to need one and not have it.”
Frost said if he’s traveling with his family and staying in an Airbnb, he’ll pack his own kitchen kit without hesitation. One too many run-ins with plastic bread knives has made him wary of rental properties.
That’s not the only kitchen gear that gets on his nerves. He absolutely hates glass chopping boards. “The other thing that makes me really cross are glass chopping boards. Like round glass chopping boards. It’s just nuts,” he said. “With a nice wood chopping board, it evolves over time. It gets a little divot in it. It feels nice to touch.”
Frost might be best known for his roles in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, but his passion for cooking goes way back. He started working in kitchens after leaving school, doing long hours from the age of 19. But professional cooking didn’t stick. “It was really hard,” he admitted. “I was still working in the kitchen until I was 28, 29, not knowing what I was going to do.”
He didn’t find cooking in restaurants fun, it felt like a grind. But everything changed when he became an actor. Suddenly, cooking wasn’t a job anymore. It became something he did out of love.
“When you do it for a living it becomes less fun,” he said. “Then I started to be an actor, and then I didn’t have to get in for 6am and leave at 1am anymore. I got to do it for my friends and family, and I just fell in love with it again.”
For Nick Frost, cooking is more than just making food. It’s his way of showing people he cares. “I think people expect actors to be big show-offs. I’ve never been that at all, but I feel like cooking sometimes is a way of showing off slightly,” he said. “That took eight hours to prep. And now I hope you really love it.”
Now that he’s no longer tied to a hot kitchen for 15-hour shifts, Frost enjoys cooking at home with his wife Christina and their son Mac. Whether it’s chopping on a well-worn wood board or slicing with his go-to knife, Frost keeps it personal, practical, and full of heart.
Jamie Wells has a knack for getting the inside scoop on Hollywood’s biggest stars and up-and-coming talent. With a sharp eye for industry trends and an ear for viral moments, Jamie covers everything from red-carpet events to behind-the-scenes drama in movies, TV, and celebrity culture.
