RICHARD KEOGH reckons he could be a contestant on MasterChef. The Derby captain, 32, has even been passing on his culinary skills to his next-door neighbours and team-mates Mason Mount and Harry Wilson. Keogh loves going all Gordon Ramsay in the kitchen — minus the tantrums — while rustling up meals for his wife Charlie […]
RICHARD KEOGH reckons he could be a contestant on MasterChef.
The Derby captain, 32, has even been passing on his culinary skills to his next-door neighbours and team-mates Mason Mount and Harry Wilson.
Keogh loves going all Gordon Ramsay in the kitchen — minus the tantrums — while rustling up meals for his wife Charlie and toddler son Sebastian.
The Irish centre-back told SunSport: “It’s therapeutic. I get into the kitchen, put some music on, have a little sing-song and cook for my wife and little boy.
“Maybe I should have a go on MasterChef!”
His considerable talents with woks and saucepans have grabbed the attention of on-loan Chelsea star Mount, 20, and Liverpool loanee Wilson, 22.
Keogh explained: “I’ve been showing them how to cook.
“They could just about boil an egg when they arrived! But to be fair they’ve also had a few lessons from our nutritionist too.
“I do sometimes find myself passing a few bowls of food over the fence to them!”
Keogh’s speciality is a dish that the Rams players have been enjoying on the eve of a match for some years now.
He said: “It’s important to load up on carbs before a game, so I do my famous pre-match pasta.
“When the two boys moved in next door, I went round and cooked it for them.
“I get the odd text asking, ‘Oh, can you please drop a couple of bowls over?’ The ingredients are chicken, chilli and spring onions.
“And for the sauce I do three tablespoons of creme fraiche, pesto and sweet chilli. Mix it all together and there you go. It’s healthy — and great to prepare your body a day before playing.”
This ritual certainly works for Keogh, who has played every minute in the Championship, FA Cup and Carabao Cup this season.
And he is set to make his 300th Championship appearance for Derby today when they take on Rotherham at Pride Park.
It will also be his 603rd club outing in his professional career.
Keogh said: “It’s hard to play just one game, let alone more than 600, so it’s a record I’m proud of.
“If I manage to get through the season playing every minute, it’ll be the fourth time in my career.
“You need some luck with injuries and, touch wood, I’ve not picked up too many.”
It also helps that the defender is so robust.
He broke a bone in his right hand in the 0-0 draw against Stoke last week — but declined surgery — preferring not to miss the Republic of Ireland’s Euro 2020 qualifying double header against Georgia and Gibraltar.
Not to mention the business end of the season with the Rams.
They could climb into the play-off spots with victory today.
And Keogh — who suffered Wembley heartache in the 2014 play-off final against QPR plus semi-final agony against Hull in 2016 — is desperate to mark his seventh season at the club with promotion.
He said: “It would mean the world to me to get this club up.”
Although the team are going through a transition period, with the appointment of Chelsea legend Frank Lampard as boss during the summer, the bar is now set sky high at Pride Park.
Keogh added: “Because we’ve been fighting at the top end of the league, expectation comes with that. When you’re at a club like Derby you must accept it.”
Keogh has certainly been impressed with Lampard’s first season in management.
He said: “Straight away, when someone like that gets appointed, it’s exciting.
“I can relate to the manager because of how he approached his career. How hard working he was, how he got the best out of himself — and breathed in every moment of his career.
“I really like playing for him. His style and training has been really enjoyable.
“He’s worked with some really unbelievable managers, naturally he’ll have taken stuff from them, but at the same time he wants to be his own man.
“Immediately he has that aura about him because of who he is, which definitely helps, yet he has really come on as the season has progressed as well.
“And I will tell you something, he can still play. He has a few nutmegs in him!”
