FOOD JOURNALISM

In Spring of 2005, I won the London week of Channel 4`s cookery and party-giving competition, Come Dine with Me. I have also cooked professionally on television, on Five's Open House with Gloria Hunniford and several times on the Carlton Food Network. I write about food too - you can read various examples of my work including my report on New York's fine dining scene in Yes, Chef! magazine, on this site's Writing page.

I am proud to have been elected to the Guild of Food Writers, other members of which include Antony Worrall Thompson, Raymond Blanc and Delia Smith. I was delighted to compere the GFW's annual and highly prestigious awards ceremony for more than 10 years. I have chaired a debate on restaurant criticism at The Restaurant Show at Earls Court 2. Talking of Antony WT, you may have seen me judging his culinary efforts against those of Paul Rankin on The People's Cookbook, a series on UKTV Food. I judged and eliminated dishes on many editions of ITV's BRITAIN'S BEST DISH and then was asked to perform the same job on the celebrity version, CELEBRITY BEST DISH.

I also reviewed the food and the service in more than 100 restaurants for the respected website viewlondon.

OTHER WRITING

I am really pleased with an article the Daily Mail printed about gynacomastia, the condition in which men develop female-type breasts, even if they are not overweight or out of condition. I suffered from this until I had my moobs removed at the age of 40 and am always looking for opportunities to 'bang the drum' about corrective surgery. Do read the article, and contact me via an email to the Contact page if you know of a media opportunity where I can spread the word further: I don't want one single man to continue suffering in silence through lack of information! dailymail.co.uk

MUSIC & THEATRE

Somehow, along the way, I've found time to star in ten pantomimes, play Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, and tour in the black comedy, Widow's Weeds. I also wrote a hit song, Starting Together, which was the theme music to Desmond Wilcox's acclaimed documentary series, The Marriage, and went to number two in the charts sung by Hi-de-Hi star, Su Pollard.

My first-ever professional recording was when I was a 21-year-old cub reporter on the Sandwell Express & Star newspaper in the Black Country at the time when Noele Gordon was sensationally axed by ATV in 1981 from her role as Crossroads matriarch, Meg Richardson/Mortimer. I wrote a tongue-in-cheek lament at home, made a tape of it and took it to work next day. When they'd finished laughing, my fellow journos said it was so good, I should get it released as a record.

You can hear both on the Showreel page.


TV AND RADIO BIOGRAPHY  >>

CURRENTLY:

My involvement with the Great Taste Awards
britishfinefoods.com continues to grow. In 2022, I became a judge-coordinator which involves writing up to 50 albeit brief reports on products PER DAY! - exhausting but immensely satisfying. And in 2024 I began making annual, weeklong trips to the Republic of Ireland with my fellow coordinators to judges entries there.

In 2024, I was honoured and amazed to be elected to the grand jury of the Academy of Chocolate
academyofchocolate.org.uk which chooses the year’s supreme champion bar and bonbon, a rare honour for a non-chocolate-specialist.