Antony Worrall Thompson

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name = Antony Worrall Thompson

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caption = Antony Worrall Thompson in November 2006
birth_name = Henry Antony Cardew Worrall Thompson
birth_date = birth date and age|1951|05|01
birth_place = Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, England
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nationality = British
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occupation = celebrity chef, television presenter and radio broadcaster.

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Henry Antony Cardew Worrall Thompson (born 1 May 1951) is a British celebrity chef, television presenter and radio broadcaster.

Early life

Thompson was born in Stratford upon Avon, he was educated at The King's School, Canterbury where his face was injured playing rugby and he had to wait until he was 21 before he could have plastic surgery to correct the disfigurement. [cite web |url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/foodmonthly/story/0,,875307,00.html |title=The real naked chef |accessdate=2007-12-01 |format= |work=Observer Food Monthly] After he left school he studied hotel management at Westminster College.

Career

Worrall Thompson opened his first restaurant - "Ménage à Trois" - in Knightsbridge in 1981. Since then he has launched several successful restaurants, including "Wiz and Woz" in West London and "Metro" in Jersey — all of which reflect his somewhat individual approach to food.

He was a cook on BBC2’s "Food and Drink", appeared on "Ready Steady Cook" from 1994, and has presented a number of other cookery programmes. In 2003, he appeared in the second series of "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!".

From 2003 (when he replaced original host Gregg Wallace) until June 2006, he was the host of BBC2's "Saturday Kitchen", which had transferred to BBC1 to replace Saturday morning children's television. However, after a large financial offer from ITVFact|date=March 2007, Worrall Thompson and the production company responsible for the show, Prospect Pictures transferred the format - including Australian wine expert Matt Skinner - to ITV. The new show currently airs as "Daily Cooks Challenge" during the week and "Saturday Cooks" on Saturdays, with spin-off shows also being made, such as a "Christmas Cooks" show during December.

Until late 2006, he was Catering Director for Old Luxters Barn, in Buckinghamshire. He has not publicly discussed his reasons for pulling out.

Since the move to ITV, Thompson has ceased to appear as a guest chef on "Ready, Steady, Cook". The BBC outsourced the now vacant "Saturday Kitchen" format to a new company and the show started with James Martin presenting just three weeks after Worrall Thompson started his ITV version.

Worrall Thompson recently represented the Midlands and East of England in series one of the BBC's "Great British Menu" but was beaten by Galton Blackiston, [cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/tv_and_radio/menu_index.shtml|title=Great British Menu|publisher=BBC|accessdate=2008-06-10] after burning the meat course of his entry prior to the judging phase.

Worrall Thompson is a patron of FOREST, a UK-based pro-smoking lobby, and is also involved in fundraising for the Conservative Party.

In June 2008 he made a guest appearance on ITV soap Emmerdale, where he was judging a Pub of the Year contest.

Criticism

Worrall Thompson's recipe for Snickers Pie was nominated by independent food watchdog The Food Commission as one of the most unhealthy dessert recipes ever. Consisting of five Snickers bars, puff pastry, mascarpone, soft cheese, sugar and eggs, a single slice has been estimated to contain 1,250 calories. Although this was widely reported in the British media, the BBC still hosts [http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/snickerspie_80041.shtml the recipe] on its website, albeit with a health warning.

In 2005, as he launched his new series, Gordon Ramsay commented on the phenomenon of "Celebrity Chefs" saying, "I don't really think I'm a celebrity chef. There's a TV bracket and a serious chef bracket." He went on to dub Ainsley Harriot, Brian Turner and Worrall Thompson as the "Teletubbies". [cite web|url=http://www.myvillage.co.uk/pages/restaurants-gordonramsay.htm|title=Gordon's Just Desserts|publisher=MyVillage|accessdate=2008-06-10]

Thompson recommended the poisonous plant Henbane as a "tasty addition to salads" in the August 2008 issue of Healthy and Organic Living magazine. Apologising for the error Thompson said: "I was thinking of a wild plant with a similar name, Fat Hen, not this herb. It's a bit embarrassing, but there have been no reports of any casualties. Please do pass on my apologies." The magazine sent subscribers an urgent message stating that Henbane "is a very toxic plant and should never be eaten." [cite news
title=TV chef Worrall Thompson recommends deadly weed as salad ingredient
url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/aug/04/foodanddrink.foodsafety?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront
work=The Guardian
date=August 4, 2008
accessdate=2008-08-04]

References

External links

* [http://www.awtonline.co.uk/ Antony Worrall Thompson's website]
* [http://www.awtrestaurants.com/ Antony Worrall Thompson's Restaurants website]
* [http://www.itv.com/cooks "Saturday Cooks!"] at itv.com
* [http://www.asrecommended.co.uk/lifestyle/tips/?FaqID=60 "Interview with asrecommended"]
* [http://www.booksattransworld.co.uk/catalog/extract.htm?command=search&db=twmain.txt&eqisbndata=0553814362 Extract from his biography]
* [http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article343406.ece "The Independent", 6 Feb 2005]