After being hurled into the culinary limelight on BBC's Masterchef show, Orlando Murrin became editor of BBC Good Food magazine before setting up a gastronomic guesthouse in the southwest of France. He has written six cookbooks and was recently awarded the British Guild of Food Writers' Outstanding Contribution Award. He lives in domestic bliss in southwest England. From his grandfather, a detective who became a much-feared counter-espionage agent and interrogator, he has inherited a fascination with crime and mystery, and his first novel, Knife Skills For Beginners, was shortlisted for the McDermid Debut Award. He recently talked with Daryl Maxwell about Knife Skills for Beginners for the LAPL Blog.
What was your inspiration for Knife Skills for Beginners?
During my career as a food writer and editor, I went to a lot of cookery schools, either as a student or tutor. They're crazy places—often very competitive—and I thought they'd make a great setting for a murder mystery. If you think about it, any kitchen is a death trap—not just knives, but whirling machines, flames, boiling oil, raised tempers... Knife Skills For Beginners tells the story of a hapless chef who gets called in to teach a course at short notice at a posh (but shabby round the edges) London cookery school. After something terrible happens, he finds himself watching his students for signs of murderous tendencies as they sharpen knives, knead dough, and roll out pastry.
Are Paul, Julie, Rose, any of the students or law enforcement officers, or any of the other characters in the novel inspired by or based on specific individuals?
All the characters are drawn from my imagination apart from two.
The first is Dena, the magazine editor. I worked for an editor in the 1980s who was obsessive and monomaniacal, though not quite as monstrous as Dena.
The second is Jerome Marnier. Jerome is an affectionate portrait of a much-loved chef and restaurateur, Robert Carrier, who died in 2006. Robert was a charmer and a fabulous raconteur, and he'd be very amused to find himself gently mocked in the novel.
Same question for Christian (because I think there may be a story here)?
There are lots of theories going round about who Christian is based on. All I'll say is that in my book, Christian is very much down on his luck—which can't be said for Gordon Ramsay, or Marco-Pierre White, the main contenders (apparently).
Let's just say he's an amalgamation of a few different TV chefs.
How did the novel evolve and change as you wrote and revised it? Are there any characters or scenes that were lost in the process that you wish had made it to the published version?
When I finished the first draft, I naively thought that was it. I didn't know that if you're working for a big publisher, you get lots and lots of expert input to try and turn your effort into a bestseller. The main changes were to make the plot more puzzling and develop the minor characters so they became viable suspects. And to throw in a few red herrings to misdirect and confuse the reader and keep the scent off the real perpetrator.
You've written six cookbooks and have written a regular column in the Waitrose Weekend. Knife Skills for Beginners is your debut novel. How challenging did you find it to go from writing non-fiction to fiction?
Writing a cookbook is a complex process with challenging logistics. You have to devise a recipe, shop for it, test it, write it up, test it—and repeat. You need to do this 70-100 times for the average cookbook, so it's lots of short, concentrated pieces of work.
A work of fiction is a totally different process, requiring colossal patience, endurance, and stamina. And when you've finished it, you have to go back over it repeatedly, which does your head in. You need a lot of self-belief; otherwise, you'd simply give up.
In an age where there may be more content, in print, televised, and online, about cooking than ever before, is there a common misperception about what you do as a professional cook that you would like to explain/correct?
I think people forget that cooking is hard, tiring work, often executed in uncomfortable circumstances – too hot or cramped or rushed. I wish people were kinder towards restaurant staff—they're usually doing their best.
And everyone complains about restaurant prices. Very few restaurants are 'profiteering'—most of them scrape by, and an awful lot go bust, losing investors' money. So before you moan about the bill, imagine how much it costs to run a restaurant—the rent, rates, food bills, salaries, and a hundred other things.
Your biography mentions that your grandfather was a detective who became a counter-intelligence agent and interrogator and that it was his career that inspired your interest and love of crime and mystery stories. Can you tell us a bit about him?
He's the family hero—a famous spycatcher during and after the war, called William Skardon. The reason he was such a successful interrogator is that he was kind and charming. He would lull his suspects into a false sense of security and trap them into making mistakes. At which point he would gently persuade them to confess. It worked almost every time.
He was a very honourable man and after he retired refused to speak about his work, which of course had been top secret. This made him some enemies, who later got their own back by bad-mouthing him, and that slightly soured his last few years.
As a debut fiction author, what have you learned during the process of getting your novel published that you would like to share with other writers about this experience?
First of all, hang around with writers, become part of the writing community, go on courses, meet people. Agents and publishers are always scouting for new talent, and a personal intro is worth its weight in gold. I didn't do this—but it would have made life a lot easier.
Secondly, be absolutely single-minded, persistent, and determined about this. Writers may pretend in a nonchalant kind of way that they drifted into writing, but it isn't true. When I was doing my first draft, I stuck a note on my computer to remind myself that 'I am in Deadly Earnest.' It worked.
Knife Skills for Beginners is listed as the first in the Chef Paul Delamare Mysteries series. What are your plans for the series? Can you tell us anything about Paul's next adventure?
After his adventures at the Chester Square Cookery School, I can assure readers Paul won't be going anywhere near another cookery school.
He does, however, find himself invited to join a friend to join her for her honeymoon voyage aboard a superyacht. Although he's determined not to find himself roped in to help with the cooking, on the first night, the chef goes on a bender, and he finds himself cooking dinner for everyone.
After that, a priceless necklace disappears, and a passenger is found dead in suspicious circumstances... and that's when things really start to go wrong.
It’s called May Contain Murder and is being launched on 16 December 2025.
What's currently on your nightstand?
I'm in the lucky position that I'm constantly sent proofs of new crime books. I currently have queued up D V Bishop's A Divine Fury, Tom Benjamin's The Bologna Vendetta and Veronika Dapunt's Death and Other Occupational Hazards. They all look fantastic.
Can you name a book for which you are an evangelist (and you think everyone should read)?
A Case of Mice and Murder—a charming, beautifully written historical crime novel (set in 1901) written by distinguished lawyer Sally Smith. It came out shortly after Knife Skills For Beginners.
What is the last piece of art (music, movies, TV, more traditional art forms) that you've experienced or that has impacted you?
I'm a keen classical pianist, and a few months ago decided to learn two Bach Preludes and Fugues from the Well-Tempered Clavier. It was the hardest thing I've ever done but being inside the mind of a genius such as J S Bach is the most incredible privilege.
What is your idea of THE perfect day (where you could go anywhere/meet with anyone)?
At the risk of sounding anti-social, it would be at home. In the morning I'd write, in the afternoon practise Bach and copperplate script. (I've started to learn it, and it's both beautiful and relaxing.) In the evening, cook dinner and enjoy a glass of wine.
What is the question that you're always hoping you'll be asked but never have been?
Ha! 'How did you create your beautiful website?'
What is your answer?
I've had various websites over the years, but at last I've found the perfect website manager and together we've made something which I hope readers will find fun, glamorous and entertaining. You’ll find it at www.orlandomurrin.com.
If you fill in the 'subscribe' box, you'll get a cheerful greeting me on the first of the month and a recipe or other bonus. Please say hello!
What are you working on now?
A further adventure for Paul Delamare. And I can assure readers that after his superyacht adventure, he won't be going to sea again.
