MASTERCHEF star Marcus Wareing was dealt a huge blow on the BBC show Tales from a Kitchen Garden.
Marcus – who lives in the Sussex countryside – was reminded of the hard “reality” of owning a farm when two of his ducks went missing.
The celebrity chef, 51, made the heartbreaking discovery minutes into the latest instalment.
“I was just on my way over to the orchard, and I thought I would walk past the pond, and I just realised there is only one duck, two have been taken,” he said.
“It’s such a shame, such a shame, there is only one thing that could happen, and that’s the foxes, unfortunately.
“And I think what’s happened is that they have lived in the reefs or grass rather than in the duck house.
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“I thought that would be ok, that would be enough – it wasn’t!”
The TV star was disappointed that his livestock had been taken but came up with a solution.
“Of course at nighttime, that’s when all the predators come out, [and] two have gone,” Marcus continued.
“I could see the problem from the behaviour of the last remaining duck.”
With the duck just pecking the food from the floating home, he added: “She hasn’t worked out it’s her home. She’s feeding off the side of it but just not going inside.
“This is a bit of a reality check, you learn fast when you are out here.”
The Michelin-starred chef said he would invest in more ducks and “younger ones” that he could train to use the house for protection – and help the older duck to follow suit.
The series sees Marcus travel across the country visiting the very best of British producers, farmers and gardeners – inspiring him as he grows his fledgling market garden.
With the help of some of the UK’s best producers, he is hoping to expand his range with new livestock that will provide him with meat, milk and eggs.
“I found a place four and a half years ago,” Marcus told The Graham Norton Radio Show.
“I was looking for a small second place to go. My kids go to school down in Tonbridge, and this particular property came available round there, with this beautiful kitchen, garden, orchard, beehives, and 65 acres of land.
“And I’m thinking, ‘I love the house’. But what to with all the land led to me starting to get creative…”
He added: “It’s a place where you arrive and you feel different.
“You drop the London bag off your shoulders the minute you go through the gates, and it’s a completely different place for me.
“That’s not to say it’s not hard work – I say in the show that I’m slowing down.
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” I’ve worked six days a week for 20 or 30 years, 16 hour days, my slowing down is not the same as everyone else’s! I love work. I love getting in the garden.
“A slow day for me is spending 12 hours with the pigs in the forest, chopping trees down with my chainsaw out and clearing things up!”
