Ainsley Harriott

Ainsley Harriott was born 28 September 1957 in England. He is a TV celebrity chef and a cookbook author.

His father was Chester Harriott, the jazz pianist from Jamaica who came to England in 1952 on a scholarship for the Royal School of Music. His mother Peppy Strudwick was a nurse from Jamaica. Her father, Clifford T Strudwick, had cooked at the White House for American President Franklin Roosevelt.

Ainsley, along with his brother and sister, grew up in Balham, south London; he still lives in the Wandsworth Common area. Peppy and Chester's marriage later broke up.

He is very tall, 6' 4" (1.9 metres), is married to a costume designer named Clare, and has two children, Jimmy and Madelaine. He is an avid chess player.

Ainsley learned to cook from his mother, and trained in cooking at Westminster College. At 16, he became a trainee in a restaurant called "Verry's" in London, where he went on to become commis chef. He then left the restaurant business for a bit, and toured around singing and doing comedy as a part of a duo called "The Calypso Twins" (with Paul Baross.) They made one record in the early 1990s.

Chronology of work

1993 -- first TV appearance in the science-fiction comedy called " Red Dwarf"
worked as head chef of The Long Room, the restaurant at Lord's cricket ground,
1995 -- honorary degree from the University of Warwick
1996 -- published "In The Kitchen"
1997 -- TV show "Ainsley's Barbecue Bible"
1997 -- published "Barbecue Bible"
1997 -- published "Can’t Cook Won’t Cook"
1997 -- published "Meals In Minutes"
1998 -- did "Ainsley's Meals in Minutes" and "Party of A Lifetime"
1999 -- did "Ainsley’s Big Cook Out"
presenter of TV show "Can't Cook Won't Cook" on BBC Two
2000 -- became host of "Ready Steady Cook" on TV
2000 -- published Gourmet Express One
2001 -- published Gourmet Express Two
2002 -- published Low Fat Meals in Minutes
2002 -- became a spokesperson in the UK for Procter and Gamble's Fairy Liquid (dishwashing soap)
2003 -- published All New Meals in Minutes
2003 -- published My Favourite Hot & Spicy Recipes
2005 -- BBC TV show "The 50 things to eat before you die"

Other entries for: Biographies

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