Watching Ainsley Harriott cook is a pure delight. It makes the tedious task very fun. He is known for hosting BBC cooking shows. I Can’t Cook, I Wasn’t Cooking and Ready to Cook stable and was a regular fixture on the UK television circuit for over two decades. Harriott is not only a chef, but also a successful television presenter, entertainer and author.
During his career, Harriot has worked in some of London’s finest restaurants and hotels, traveled the world and made television series for the UK, US and other countries.
Aside from his keen cooking sense and effort, other elements that have made Harriott an enduring presence on our screens and a lingering image in our minds are his bubbly energy, facial expressions, and dirty sense of humor. he often uses in his speeches.
Ainsley Harriott – Biography
Of Jamaican heiress descent, Ainsley Harriott was born in Paddington, central London, Westminster on February 28, 1957. Her father, Chester Leroy Harriott, was a pianist and singer and her mother was Peppy Harriott (née Strudwick). He has two siblings – a sister, Jacqueline and a brother named Chester.
After his training at Westminster Kingsway College, Harriott then went to the restaurant in Verrey, West End, where he got an apprenticeship and later worked as a commis chef. However, long before he started brewing thunderstorms and tingling our taste buds with extreme smoothness and perfect flavor, he was quickly following in his father’s footsteps as a singer. He also has talent in comedy. On the other hand, he said that his mother was an excellent cook and could be inspired by her career.
Harriott formed the music group Calypso Twins with his school friend, Paul Boross. They released a successful album, World’s Day in the early 1990s, it performed regularly at the Comedy Store and Jugglers, on TV and radio, and in the United States.
He was married to former costume designer Clare Fellows. The duo had two children before splitting in 2012.
All you need to know
His career
Ainsley Harriott’s work has been chronicled on numerous cooking television and radio shows. He was the head of the Long Room at Lord’s Cricket Ground. During this period he was also a presenter on BBC Radio 5 Live ‘s More Nosh, Less Dosh. He also appeared as an extra on the comedy television show, Hale and Pace. He later worked as resident chef on BBC1’s daytime television show Hello with anne and nick before becoming the main presenter of I Can’t Cook, I Wasn’t Cooking. He also appeared on the cooking game Ready Cook stable from 2000 to 2010.
He has presented other cooking shows including Ainsley’s Barbecue Bible, Ainsley’s Meals in Minutes, Ainsley’s Big Cook Out and Ainsley’s Gourmet Express. In 1993, he portrayed a GELF (genetically modified life form) leader in the sci-fi comedy series Nain rouge
At the dawn of the new millennium, Harriott made her American television debut with her self-titled show, The Ainsley Harriott Show. He later hosted the US version of Ready cook stable, which was named Ready…Prepare…Cook! He joined the GMTV Morning Show with Lorraine with Cooking Recipes in February 2010 and appeared in TV commercials for “Fairy Liquid” dishwashing liquid from 2002 to 2007. Harriott was featured on Merry Christmas, the finale My Christmas special family in 2010.
Ainsley Harriott was the narrator of The Best Food Ever (2016; he also joined the cast of the reality TV series Costa Del Celebrity (2018) is one of five celebrities to get a taste of life on the Costa Blanca, in Spain From 2019 he is the presenter of his new TV show, Ainsley’s Caribbean Kitchen on ITV, marketing his own range of food products including couscous, risotto, soups and cereal bars.
Ainsley Harriot is a bestselling author
Harriot is a writer and has published twelve books. He has also released many others in conjunction with his TV shows, including Ainsley Harriott’s Barbecue (2000), Ainsley Harriott’s Gourmet Express (2002), and Ainsley’s Caribbean Kitchen (2019). He has sold over 2 million books worldwide, including foreign language translations.
Strictly Come Dancing
In 2015, Ainsley Harriot took part in the thirteenth series of the British dance competition, Strictly Come Dancing. On the reality show, celebrities join professional dancers to compete in a ballroom dancing competition.
He was paired with professional dancer Natalie Lowe and was the fourth contestant to be eliminated, finishing in twelfth position.