We caught up with Luke Kempner to find out more about his career, his love of good food and what guests can expect from his performance at this year’s awards ceremony.
Entertaining guests at this year’s FMT Food Industry Awards is the multi-talented Luke Kempner. His performance credits span comedy, impressions and musicals, including a starring role in West End show Les Misérables, and he will be bringing his trademark energy to the stage at the FMT awards ceremony.
Luke returns to the hit show Les Misérables for its 2026 tour, and with a major role in such a fixture of the West End, it is no surprise to find out that musical theatre is his first love and that playing to audiences in London’s theatreland has been a “dream come true”. But his love of comedy and impressions also started at a young age, as he would entertain classmates with impressions from his favourite TV shows and of his teachers, one of whom, he says, he has remained friends with to this day.
Comedy has seen Luke’s career move from stage to screen, as a cast member on Spitting Image and Murder in Successville, and with so many strings to his bow, he has been able to combine the different branches of his work in acclaimed shows Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image The Musical and Gritty Police Drama: One Man Musical, which had a sold-out run at 2023’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
More recently, Luke has added podcasting to his CV as a host on The Thing About Arsenal, which has been gathering a loyal following since its launch in January this year, and sees Luke discuss the ups and downs of his beloved team with fellow hosts.
“I’m very high energy. I like everyone to have a really good time; I want this to be a party.”
Variety is something that Luke enjoys in his work, and guests at this year’s FMT awards will be treated to a performance that will take in comedy, impressions and even a few songs. Luke loves connecting with the audience when he performs and says those special moments that happen on stage can’t be recreated in any other format. He told us: “Comedy just brings people together. What I love about live performances is that everything exists in that night.” He added: “I’m very high energy. I like everyone to have a really good time; I want this to be a party. So, quite a lot of energy and just a general happy, friendly, fun vibe.”
Luke is well known for his impressions of famous figures including Louis Theroux, Donald Trump and Jeremy Clarkson, and said that his favourite characters are the ones that the audience connects to immediately, such as Alan Carr: “We all love him. I sort of enjoy being in his skin, you know, when he’s laughing, it’s so infectious!”
Luke enjoys cooking as well as entertaining, so when we asked him if he would like to invite anyone from his repertoire over for a dinner party, Wenger obviously topped the list. But as a keen home cook, Luke said he would relish the challenge of preparing a meal for that most intimidating of chefs Gordon Ramsay, and added that he thinks he could give the chef a run for his money when it comes to his signature dish: “I would back myself to cook carbonara for Gordon Ramsay. I’ve perfected that over many years!”
For Luke, food is about sharing memories with people and caring for those around him. He commented: “You can show so much love in cooking for somebody. You know, that brings me as much joy as making people laugh.”
With his combined love of food, comedy and performing, Luke will make the perfect host for this year’s Food Management Food Industry Awards. We’d love to see you there!
The FMT Food Industry Awards 2026 takes place on Friday 12th June as part of a five-star business lunch and awards ceremony held at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, London. For more information about the event and to purchase tickets, click here.
