meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Desert Island Discs

Keith Floyd

Desert Island Discs

BBC

Music, Personal Journals, Society & Culture, Music Commentary

4.314.3K Ratings

🗓️ 30 December 1990

⏱️ 32 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The castaway in Desert Island Discs this week is television cook Keith Floyd. Renowned for his garrulous charm as much as for his culinary expertise, he'll be describing the chronicle of failure that dogged him through spells in the Army, as a cub reporter, as an antiques dealer and as a restaurateur. He'll also be talking to Sue Lawley about his passion for good food, music and the elusive nature of romantic happiness.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Hey Jude by The Beatles Book: Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake Luxury: Pair of handmade blue suede shoes

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hello, I'm Krestey Young, and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs archive.

0:05.0

For rights reasons, we've had to shorten the music.

0:08.0

The program was originally broadcast in 1990, and the presenter was Sue Lawley. My costaway this week is a cook. Five years ago he was not always sure he could afford the ingredients for his next meal.

0:37.0

Now five television series and nine books later, he can buy all the food and drink he needs.

0:43.0

His success lies in his enthusiasm for his subject and his anarchic approach to its presentation.

0:49.0

His television programs are appreciated as much for the garrulous charm of their presenter

0:54.4

as for their culinary content. A constantly replenished wine glass usually to hand,

0:59.9

he's become known as the drinking man's cook he is Keith Floyd

1:04.0

Keith I didn't intend to make you sound like an overnight success but it was a bit

1:07.7

like that wasn't it suddenly you were somebody yes I was it was a very

1:12.1

strange strange thing I was. It was a very strange, strange thing. I was running a near bankrupt restaurant in Bristol,

1:18.0

and about midnight the waitress came up and said there's a gentleman on table five who wants to have a quick word with you and I went over to table five and there was this

1:27.0

plump balding very red moon-faced gentleman in a leather jacket and dock martin shoes in the Communist Party

1:36.3

CCP red scarf

1:38.3

Sort of half asleep in a pile of lobsters and muscles and stuff like that.

1:43.0

Oh dear, oh dear what am I going to do with this one?

1:45.6

I thought probably the inevitable complaint is going to happen.

1:48.6

It's too expensive or something like that.

1:49.7

Wasn't a bit of that?

1:50.5

He said, I think that was a very good meal would you like to appear on

1:53.6

television I thought well yeah great thanks a lot I'll do that's fine thank you but you

1:58.6

can still pay for your meal so I thought you we were quite close to BBC and I was quite used to BBC people coming in and

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.