Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of the WPP group, has revealed that keeping kosher at university nearly sent his promising future up in flames.
Recalling cooking a meal with TV historian Simon Schama at Christ's College, Cambridge, the advertising boss said: “We were among the first Jewish boys to be excused from dining in formal halls so that we could attempt to keep kosher.
“We used to cook our meals together, and one night Simon — making his favourite risotto — almost burned down his room, and the college dorm, after he left a saucepan on the gas ring.”
The story comes from an interview with the college magazine marking Sorrell's induction as an honorary fellow at Christ's.
