HUGH Fearnley-Whittingstall is an award-winning chef, writer, and broadcaster and thus a big name in the culinary world.
But the celebrity chef hit headlines for dishing out criticism rather than food when he slammed the Master Chef host, Greg Wallace saying, that Gregg had “clearly he’s crossed some lines”, after the hosts’ alleged misconduct.
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall was born in Hampstead, London, on January 14, 1965.
He was educated at Summer Fields School, Eton College and St Peter’s College, Oxford, where he read philosophy and psychology.
He previously lived in Africa and considered a career in wildlife conservation.
However, when he returned to England, he became a sous-chef at the River Café in London.
He now owns three River Cottage restaurants – in Axminster, Bristol and Winchester.
The star earned a huge following through his River Cottage TV series, as well as campaigns such as Hugh’s Fish Fight, Hugh’s War on Waste and his latest, Britain’s Fat Fight and, in 2019, War on Plastic with Hugh and Anita.
He has written and published around 26 books over the years and with his latest, on May 9, 2024 named, How to Eat 30 Plants a Week. Before this he published, Much More Veg – another recipe book aimed to inspire more people to become less dependent on meat.
Hugh is the president of Fauna and Flora International and a patron of Switchback, a charity that helps young offenders find opportunities in the catering industry.
He said: “What people need more help with is making vegetables delicious. Because they have to compete in the end; we have to make them super tasty for people to want them, not just virtuous, and we need to make them tasty raw, tasty cooked, tasty fried, tasty roasted.”
As a journalist, Hugh has had his work published in publications such as Punch, the Evening Standard, The Sunday Times and The Guardian.
His broadcasting has earned him a Bafta as well as awards from Radio 4, The Observer and the Guild of Food Writers
Hugh married wife Marie Derome in 2001.
The couple and their livestock live on a small farm in East Devon.
They used to live together in London, but they fled to the countryside in the late eighties.
Hugh and Marie keep their marriage and family life away from the public eye for the most part.
Hugh and Marie have four children together – Oscar, Freddy, Louisa, and Chloe.
The pair adopted their fourth child Chloe after her birth mother, BBC journalist Kate Peyton, was shot dead whilst reporting from Somalia.
In an interview with The Guardian at the time of adoption, Hugh said the family had grown “330% louder” since her arrival.
In 2011, he let Chloe, Oscar and Freddie take over his Guardian column with their recipe ideas.
