I like my new routine or the fact I don't have one

I'd be up with the kids to make sure they were awake and fed before starting the daily grind.

Then I'd be into my old kitchen, at the New Inn, in Baschurch, to get ready for that day's service.

I'd be cooking lunches for locals and dinners for people from further afield.

So, by 11am, I'd have most of that day's food prepared and I'd be getting ready to serve whatever the people wanted for their lunch.

If I was lucky, I might have an hour's break in the afternoon, before helping out with the kids. And then it would have been back in the kitchen to get ready for evening service. By midnight, I'd have served dozens of customers and cleaned everything down, ready for the next day.

Then I'd take a quiet table, in the restaurant, bar or at home, and I'd start writing recipes for national newspapers and magazines. By 2am, I'd be asleep at the computer, before being ready to get up again four hours later.

That would be the pattern that I'd repeat day-in and day-out. And that's what I did for seven days a week, for 48 weeks a year for about 10 years. It's no wonder I look forward to my holidays.

Now, however, things have changed.

Since becoming a regular on ITV This Morning, I've had to re-prioritise. We sold our pub earlier this year and moved into Brompton Cookery School, so that I can teach other people how to do it.

Last year: every day would be pretty much the same.

This year: no two days are alike.

On any given day, I could be catching the train to London to film. I might be at the cookery school, in Shrewsbury, cooking dishes for a photographer who's working on a cookbook that'll be out before Christmas – I'll tell you more about that in coming months.

I could be meeting new suppliers, foraging for ingredients, arranging demos here at Brompton by celebrity chefs or I might be talking to people who want one-on-one tuition.

Versatility has become the name of the game. One minute I'm in the bar with James Martin at the BBC Good Food Show, another I'm cooking desserts with Eric Lanlard and on another

I'm with Mrs Smith, from Somewheresville, who wants to learn how to make the perfect casserole.

I'm a huge fan of my new routine – or, should I say, the fact that I no longer have a routine. The Mrs Smiths are among the people I like the most. We have lots of visitors to the cookery school every week and teaching them the basics is a blast.

Don't think I've got out of the habit of cheffing, however. But these days, when I cook, it's a different experience. We've got a dining room at Brompton and people book that – it's like a chef's table, where they meet me, tell me what they'd like and then I go and cook it.

I work with my wife, Jenny, who serves the food. We get incredible feedback, which makes it all worthwhile. We recently served a party and it included one person who had a gluten intolerance. She'd hardly ever eaten out before – and she was bowled over. She got in touch afterwards to thank us. If there's one thing a chef loves, it's a kind comment from a diner.

We spend most of our lives tucked away in hot dark kitchens, so good feedback makes it all worthwhile.

Marcus Bean is a regular on ITV This Morning. He owns the Brompton Cookery School, at Atcham, near Shrewsbury, on a National Trust Estate.

Read Marcus Bean first in your Weekend Express & Star, every Saturday