New M&S campaign for Tom Kerridge’s first retailer range collaboration

M&S is launching a new ad campaign with its celebrity chef ambassador, Tom Kerridge, marking his first-ever retailer collaboration on a new dine-in range.

Kerridge – who has fronted a string of M&S campaigns – will be showcasing the range in ads running across TV, press, radio, digital and social media from 24 September.

The ‘M&S Gastropub x Tom Kerridge’ range will be in stores and on Ocado.com from the same date. It includes starters, mains and desserts, with options for one or two people. Prices range from £3.50 to £12.

Mains include ‘British Beef Cheeks by Tom – British beef cheeks, slow-cooked in a rich red wine sauce, with herby dumplings and star anise glazed carrots’, at £12 for two people.

There also vegetarian options, such as ‘Mushroom, Leek & Butterbean Cobbler – roasted mushrooms with giant butterbeans, cannellini beans and leeks in a rich cider sauce, topped with Cornish Cove Cheddar cobblers’, at £9.50 for two.

The launch marks the 20^th anniversary of M&S’s Gastropub range, which is also gaining 25 recipe upgrades and 20 new lines.

Kerridge will appear in a 30-second TV ad running on Channel 4, ITV and Sky, including during popular shows The Great British Bake Off, My Mum Your Dad and Taskmaster. The ad “brings to life how Tom’s passion has been combined with M&S quality to produce an incredible dining-at-home experience”, according to M&S.

Kerridge said: “I’ve been lucky enough to travel the length and breadth of the UK over the last two years in my Farm to Foodhall adverts, meeting M&S’s incredible farmers and suppliers. I’ve been so inspired by the innovation and quality of what they’re producing, I just knew I wanted to create something for M&S customers using all these little gems from around the Foodhall.

“The gastropub kitchen is my heartland and these new dishes take inspiration from the flavours from my pubs – comforting classics with modern twists, top-notch ingredients and layers of flavour. All with the added beauty of being able to enjoy them from the comfort of your own home.”

M&S Food is also launching its first podcast series, hosted by Kerridge and radio presenter Chris Stark.

The Proper Tasty Pub Quiz Podcast will be about “the three most important things in life: good food, good company, and the glory of beating your friends and family at a pub quiz”.

It will be recorded at Kerridge’s restaurant, The Butcher’s Tap & Grill in Chelsea, and available on all podcast streaming platforms and YouTube, with 36 episodes per year, also from 24 September.

Kerridge and Stark will be joined in the podcast by celebrities such as Pixie Lott, Jamie Redknapp and Jill Scott.

M&S Food marketing & loyalty director Sharry Cramond said: “For the first time ever, customers across the UK will be able to eat Tom Kerridge’s food with this fantastic new range. At M&S, we’re absolutely obsessed by the quality of the food we source and sell, and that’s what makes us the perfect partner for Tom’s first retailer collaboration.

“We’re also so excited that Tom is joining Chris Stark as the hosts of our first-ever M&S Food podcast, which has all the key ingredients to make it the best pub quiz ever – delicious food, amazing hosts and the buzz of winning.

“The campaign is taking us into new territories and we’re excited to see how it performs. The new creative really brings to life that our Gastropub range is from our kitchen to yours, made with ingredients you’d find in a chef’s kitchen, and we can’t wait for customers to try some of the new delicious dishes available.”