Derek Macdonald Cooper OBE (25 May 1925 – 19 April 2014) was a British journalist and broadcaster who wrote about food, wine and whisky. He was educated at Raynes Park County Grammar School,

Portree High School Portree High School ( Gaelic: ') is a state co-educational comprehensive school in Portree, Isle of Skye in Scotland. , the school enrols 490 pupils and employs 80 teachers and support staff. The school's catchment area draws from 15 primary sch ...

and

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

, where he read English. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

service with the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

he was with Radio Malaya until 1960. After that he wrote for, among others, '' The Listener'', ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'', ''

Homes & Gardens ''Homes & Gardens'' is a British monthly interior design and garden design magazine published by Future plc Future plc is an international multimedia company established in the United Kingdom in 1985. The company has over 220 brands that sp ...

'' and ''

Saga Magazine Saga is a British company focused on serving the needs of those aged 50 and over. It has 2.7 million customers. The company operates sites on the Kent and Sussex coast: Enbrook Park and Priory Square. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange. ...

''. He was a founder member, first

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

and first President of the

Guild of Food Writers The Guild of Food Writers is the professional association of food writers and broadcasters in the United Kingdom. It has around 550 authors, broadcasters, columnists and journalists amongst its members. History On 12 April 1984, a number of lea ...

. He was appointed OBE in 1997 and in 1999 he was awarded an Hon. D.Litt. by Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh. He conceived the idea of

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

’s weekly culinary programme ''

The Food Programme ''The Food Programme'' is a BBC Radio 4 programme investigating and celebrating good food, founded by Derek Cooper and currently presented by Sheila Dillon, Dan Saladino, Leyla Kazim and Jaega Wise. The series is produced by BBC Audio in Bris ...

'', which was first broadcast in 1979. Cooper presented '' PM'' on Radio 4, and his voice-over work included items on ''

Tomorrow's World ''Tomorrow's World'' is a former British television series about contemporary developments in science and technology. First transmitted on 7 July 1965 on BBC1, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled at the beginning of 2003. The ''Tomorro ...

'' and early editions of ''

World in Action ''World in Action'' was a British investigative current affairs programme made by Granada Television for ITV from 7 January 1963 until 7 December 1998. Its campaigning journalism frequently had a major impact on events of the day. Its producti ...

''. In 2001, the year he retired from ''The Food Programme'', he won a Sony Radio Academy Special Award for "his pioneering work as one of the first journalists to take the subject of food seriously". He was diagnosed as suffering from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

in 1995. His wife of 57 years, Janet, died in 2010. They had two children: a daughter and a son.

Legacy

The Derek Cooper Award for Campaigning and Investigative Food Writing or Broadcasting is given out by the Guild of Food Writers.Awards
Guild of Food Writers.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Derek Macdonald 1925 births 2014 deaths Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford British food writers British male journalists People educated at Portree High School People educated at Raynes Park County Grammar School Wine critics