Delia Smith

Delia Smith CBE (born 18 June 1941) is a British cook and television presenter, known for her interest in teaching basic cookery skills. She is the UK's best-selling cookery author, with more than 21 million copies sold.Born to a Welsh mother in Woking, Surrey, Smith attended Bexleyheath School, leaving at the age of 16 without a single O-level. Her first job was as a hairdresser, and she also worked as a shop assistant and in a travel agency before starting her career in cookery.When Delia was 16, her boyfriend often complimented her, saying how good her food was.
This was the nudge forward that made Delia take that step into cookery. At 21, she started work in a tiny restaurant in Paddington called The Singing Chef. She started as a washer-upper, then moved on to waitressing, and then was allowed to help with the cooking. She started reading English cookery books in the Reading Room at the British Museum, trying out the recipes on a Harley Street family with whom she was living at the time.

Oliver Rowe

Oliver Rowe, 'The Urban Chef', is chef-proprietor of Konstam Caf and Konstam at the Price Albert in King's Cross. Here he sources ingredients only from within access of the London Underground. It wasn't until after he left university that London-born Ollie turned his passion for cooking into a career. He worked in restaurants in Italy and Greece, before coming back to London to train under Sam and Sam Clarke at Moro.
In 2004 he set up a cafe serving European food. When a former pub came up for sale across the road he set himself a new challenge by setting up a restaurant, sourcing all of his ingredients direct from local producers in the city itself. The BBC 2 programme 'The Urban Chef' charts his mission.

Ross Burden

Ross Burden (born 13 December 1966) is a celebrity chef from New Zealand. Ross Burden's early career was as a model but became a chef later in life. His inspiration for being a chef was his mother's extremely bad cooking skills, which meant that he spent a lot of time cooking with his grandmother.
Ross was brought up in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand and is a self-taught cook. He has hosted and been a guest on programmes across the world and was recently voted one of the UK's most eligible bachelors.
Ross’ television career began after reaching the final of BBC MasterChef 1993. He has been a regular on Ready Steady Cook for the past eight years, filmed a healthy-eating video with Joan Collins, and has made five series for Taste. He has published two books and continues to write columns for two magazines. In May 2006, Ross appeared on The X Factor: Battle of the Stars (UK) along with fellow chefs Jean-Christophe Novelli, Aldo Zilli and Paul Rankin.

Raymond Blanc

Raymond Blanc OBE (born 19 November 1949) is a French chef, born in Besançon, France. He is a self-taught chef. Today he is one of the country's most respected chefs. Blanc is the owner and chef at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, a hotel-restaurant in Great Milton, Oxfordshire, England. The restaurant has two Michelin stars and scored 9/10 in the Good Food Guide. Born in Besançon, the capital of the Franche-Comté region in eastern France, between Burgundy and the Jura mountains, Raymond was inspired by the local terroir, and most of all by his mother, the formidable Maman Blanc who used fresh, local and seasonal produce to produce meals for her family.
In the ‘90s, Raymond opened his eponymous cookery school and the first of a series of Le Petit Blanc brasseries, which earned a Michelin star within a year. The chain, which has since been renamed Brasserie Blanc, now has branches all over the UK. Raymond’s remarkable contribution to the UK's culinary scene earned him an OBE from Her Majesty the Queen in 2007.

Nigel Haworth

Nigel Haworth is head chef and co-proprietor of Northcote Manor hotel, in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire. Nigel trained at Accrington and Rossendale Catering College in Lancashire. On leaving college, he worked at the Royal Berkshire in Ascot and the Grosvenor Hotel and The Ritz in London. In 1978 he began working in hotels in Switzerland, where he perfected his patisserie skills. On his return to the UK, he began lecturing at the college where he had trained, in order to pass on the skills he learned in Switzerland and to help improve the standards of restaurants in the region.
Nigel is a member of the Masterchefs of Great Britain and a full member of the Academy of Culinary Arts. In 2004 he received the Prince Philip Medal, the City and Guilds' highest accolade, in recognition of his lifelong commitment to catering, and in 2006 he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Northern Hospitality Awards.

Richard Phillips

Richard Phillips started his career working under the Roux brothers as the youngest Commis Chef at Le Gavroche in London. He worked his way up the ranks, with an 8 month stint in France. He then moved on to work for the Marco Pierre White empire of restaurants, then as Executive Chef of the Schrager hotel group chains in London.
Richard is now the chef/patron of 'Thackeray's' in Tunbridge Wells, one of the best restaurants in Kent which gained a Michelin star in its first year. He is also a partner in the fine dining restaurant 'Hengist' in Aylesford and The Plough Gastro Pub in Amersham.

Rick Stein

Christopher Richard "Rick" Stein OBE (born 4 January 1947) is an English chef, restaurateur and television presenter. He is currently the head chef and co-owner of "Rick Stein at Bannisters" at Mollymook, New South Wales, Australia,owns four restaurants in Padstow, a fish and chip shop in Falmouth, Cornwall and has written 11 cookery books and presented a number of television programmes.
Rick has been received many awards for his work as a chef, teacher, presenter and author. He cooked twice for Tony Blair at 10 Downing Street, as well as for the former French president Jacques Chirac and for Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Philip. In January 2003, Rick was awarded an OBE for services to West Country tourism.