Keith Floyd

Keith Floyd (born 28 December 1943) is a cook who has produced many cooking shows for the BBC and Channel 5, and has published many books combining cookery and travel.

Early life

After being educated at Wellington School, Somerset, Keith Floyd became a journalist in Bristol and after watching the film Zulu decided to join the British army attaining the rank of Second Lieutenant in the Royal Tank Regiment. After leaving the army, Floyd found employment in several catering-related jobs including barman, dishwasher and vegetable peeler.

Career

His taste for wine and fine food developed and by 1971 he had acquired three restaurants in Bristol. However all three restaurants had financial problems. Floyd sold the restaurants and the rights to the name "Floyd's restaurant" and moved to the south of France, where again he opened a restaurant. After this again ended in financial problems, he moved back to England. With the help of loans from friends, he opened another restaurant in Chandos Road in Redland in Bristol. Unable to use his name, Floyd, which he had sold, the establishment had a sign saying simply "Restaurant".

The restaurant in Chandos Road, near the BBC Television Centre, was frequented by actors and other TV related people. Floyd's first cookery book, "Floyd's Food", published before he became a TV celebrity, had an introduction written by Leonard Rossiter, the star of the TV show "The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin".

Floyd's first foray into the world of show business was as a radio chef on Radio West, an independent commercial radio station in Bristol. When he was offered a role as a presenter on BBC television, he rapidly gained popularity, and became famous as a TV chef.

Despite TV success, Floyd continued to have financial problems and personal conflicts. He has been married and divorced four times and was declared bankrupt in 1996. The Daily Mirror claims that this happened after he personally guaranteed an order for £36,000 of drinks. [cite web |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_20070603/ai_n19201122 |title=Floyd chefs off |accessdate=2007-12-03 |format= |work=Sunday Mirror ] In 2002 he suffered a small stroke, and in November 2004 he was banned from driving for 32 months and fined £1500 after crashing his car into another vehicle while three-and-a-half times over the legal alcohol limit. [cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wiltshire/4035421.stm |title=TV chef banned for drink-driving |accessdate=2007-12-03 |format= |work=BBC News ]

He collapsed at a pub in Chesterton, Staffordshire on 29 January 2008 and was admitted to hospital. He was released on 22 February, travelling to his home in France to recuperate. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7258858.stm BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Chef Floyd recuperates in France ] ]

Floyd made a full recovery and was back on his feet shortly afterwards. In April 2008 he travelled to Singapore and Thailand in pursuit of new business ventures in Southeast Asia. He is currently actively involved in his restaurant Floyd’s Brasserie, located at the Burasari Resort in the popular Thai island of Phuket. This is his first Asian restaurant and is Phuket’s first ever celebrity chef restaurant, drawing a large following of Floyd fans who remember his many TV series and cookbooks.

Floyd has traveled widely to cook local dishes and entertain people around the world. His cooking shows are marked by a tendency to consume much wine during the preparation of the food.

Keith Floyd is a big fan of rock group The Stranglers - the tracks "Waltzinblack" and an edited version of "Peaches" were used as theme music for most of his TV programmes. Former Stranglers guitarist and vocalist Hugh Cornwell used to play guitar at Keith's restaurant during his student days in Bristol and the two have remained friends since.

Cookery shows

*"Floyd on Fish" (2 October 1984)
*"Floyd on Fish" (7 programs, 23 July 1985 - 27 August 1985)
*"Floyd on Food" (6 programs, 16 May 1986 - 27 June 1986)
*"Floyd on France" (7 programs, 1 September 1987 - 20 October 1987)
*"Floyd on Britain" and Ireland" (9 programs, 30 August 1988 - 1 November 1988)
*"Floyd's American Pie" (6 programs, 1 October 1989 - 8 November 1989)
*"Floyd on Oz" (9 programs, 11 April 1991 - 6 June 1991)
*"Floyd on Spain" (7 programs, 18 August 1992 - 29 September 1992)
*"Far Flung Floyd" (7 programs, 13 July 1993 - 24 August 1993)
*"Floyd on Italy" (7 programs, 12 July 1994 - 23 August 1994)
*"Floyd on Africa" (7 programs, 1996/04 - 1996/05)
*"Best Of Floyd" (7 programs, 1997)
*"Floyd Uncorked" (8 programs, 2 November 1998 - 21 December 1998)
*"Floyd on GMTV" (ITV, 12 programs, 16 November 1998 - 24 December 1998)
*"Floyd's Fjord Fiesta" (7 programs, December 2001)
*"Floyd Around the Med" (9 programs, 5 January 2000)
*"Capital Floyd" (7 programs, 4 December 2000)
*"Floyd's India" (8 programs, 29 October 2001 - 17 December 2001)

Bibliography

*"Floyd's Food" (1981)
*"Floyd on Fish" (1985)
*"Floyd on Fire: Cooking Outdoors" (1986)
*"Floyd on France: Learn to Cook the Keith Floyd" (1987)
*"Floyd on Britain and Ireland" (1988)
*"Floyd in the Soup" (1988)
*"A Feast of Floyd" (1989)
*"Floyd's American Pie" (1989)
*"Floyd on Oz" (1991)
*"Floyd on Hangovers" (1993)
*"A Pinch of Rosemary" (1993)
*"Floyd on France" (1993)
*"Floyd on Spain/Keith Floyd's Guide to Spanish Cooking" (1993)
*"Far Flung Floyd: Keith Floyd's Guide to Southeast-Asia Cooking" (1994)
*"Floyd on Fire: Barbecue the Floyd Way" (1994)
*"Floyd on Italy" (1995)
*"Hot and Spicy Floyd" (1996)
*"Floyd on Africa" (1996)
*"Cognac Cookery" (1996)
*"Keith Floyd Cooks Barbies" (1997)
*"The Best of Floyd" (1997)
*"Floyd Uncorked" (1998)
*"Floyds Fjord Fiesta" (1998)
*"Out of the Frying Pan: Scenes from My Life " (2000)
*"Floyd Around the Med" (2000)
*"Flash Floyd" (2002)
*"Floyd's India" (2003)
*"100 Great Curries" (2004)
*"Floyd's Great Curries" (2004)
*"Floyd's China" (2005)
*"Floyd's Thai Food" (2006)
*"A Splash and a Dash: Cooking with Keith Floyd" (2006)

References

External links

* [http://www.floydonline.co.uk Official Website]
* [http://keithfloyduncorked.blogspot.com/ Keith's Blog]
* [http://burasari.com/floyd/ Floyd's Brasserie at Burasari Resort, Phuket]