Paul John Hollywood (born 1 March 1966) is an English
celebrity chef
A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become a celebrity. Today, chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations, usually through the media of television and radio, or in printed publications. While television ...
and television presenter, widely known as a judge on ''
The Great British Bake Off
''The Great British Bake Off'' (often abbreviated to ''Bake Off'' or ''GBBO'') is a British television baking competition, produced by Love Productions, in which a group of amateur bakers compete against each other in a series of rounds, atte ...
'' since 2010.
Hollywood began his career at his father's bakery as a teenager and went on to serve as head baker at a number of British and international hotels. After returning from working in
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...
, Hollywood appeared as a guest on a number of British television programmes on both
BBC and
ITV. After beginning his broadcast career in food programming, he diversified into other areas, including motoring.
Early life, education and early career
Hollywood was born in 1966 in
Wallasey
Wallasey () is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England; until 1974, it was part of the historic county of Cheshire. It is situated at the mouth of the River Mersey, at the north-eastern corner of the Wirra ...
,
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
, the son of bakery proprietor John F. Hollywood and Gillian M. Hollywood (nee Harman). He was a pupil at
The Mosslands School. Hollywood studied sculpture at the Wallasey School of Art based at
Liscard Hall, but left to start work as a baker. He first worked in his father's bakery in York (the headquarters of a chain called Bread Winner which eventually stretched all the way down the east coast from Aberdeen to Lincolnshire) and then in other bakeries on
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...
.
He eventually went on to become head baker at a number of hotels including
The Dorchester
The Dorchester is a five-star luxury hotel on Park Lane and Deanery Street in London, to the east of Hyde Park. It is one of the world's most prestigious and expensive hotels. The Dorchester opened on 18 April 1931, and it still retains its ...
,
Chester Grosvenor and Spa
The Chester Grosvenor Hotel is a hotel in Chester, Cheshire, England. The Grade II listed building was built between 1863 and 1865 and is owned by the Duke of Westminster.
The long-standing establishment features an on-site restaurant ...
, and the
Cliveden Hotel. He then left the UK for
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...
, where he worked at two resorts.
Television and media career
Hollywood has appeared in guest spots on a number of television programmes, including
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
's ''
The Generation Game
''The Generation Game'' is a British game show produced by the BBC in which four teams of two people from the same family, but different generations, compete to win prizes.
The game
There are eight competitors, hence the catchphrase "Let's me ...
'', ''
The Heaven and Earth Show
''The Heaven and Earth Show'' is a BBC television programme that aired on Sunday mornings from 10am to 11am on BBC One. The show ran for nine years between 1998 and 2007, looking at spiritual and moral issues. Over the years it had numerous prese ...
,''
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
's
''This Morning'',
and ''
The Alan Titchmarsh Show
''The Alan Titchmarsh Show'' is a British daytime chat show presented by Alan Titchmarsh. It was first broadcast on ITV on 3 September 2007 until 14 November 2014 and aired on weekday afternoons. The show's main focus is the "Best of British" them ...
''.
Since the show launched in 2010, Hollywood has been a judge on the
BBC programme ''
The Great British Bake Off
''The Great British Bake Off'' (often abbreviated to ''Bake Off'' or ''GBBO'') is a British television baking competition, produced by Love Productions, in which a group of amateur bakers compete against each other in a series of rounds, atte ...
''. In this capacity, he has been described as the "antidote" to judges such as
Len Goodman
Leonard Gordon Goodman (born 25 April 1944) is an English professional ballroom dancer, dance judge, and coach.
He has appeared as head judge on the television dance programmes ''Strictly Come Dancing'', a programme where various celebrities c ...
or
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of ''The X Factor'' and ''Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on t ...
in other reality television programmes, on account of his straightforward and honest manner and because his judging is restricted purely to the finished product.
His partnership with
Mary Berry
Dame Mary Rosa Alleyne Hunnings (; born 24 March 1935), known professionally as Mary Berry, is an English food writer, chef, baker and television presenter. After being encouraged in domestic science classes at school, she studied catering at ...
has been described in ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' as being the "secret weapon" of the show and potentially one of the best judging combinations to have appeared on reality television.
In September 2016,
Love Productions
Love Productions is a UK-based television production company. Its cooking competition series ''The Great British Bake Off'' is among the most watched shows in the UK of its era.
History
Richard McKerrow and Anna Beattie formed Love Productions i ...
agreed to a three-year deal to move the show from the BBC to
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
. Hosts
Mel Giedroyc
Melanie Clare Sophie Giedroyc (; , born 5 June 1968) is a British actress, comedian and television presenter. With Sue Perkins, she has co-hosted series including ''Light Lunch'' for Channel 4, ''The Great British Bake Off'' for the BBC and cha ...
and
Sue Perkins
Susan Elizabeth Perkins (born 22 September 1969) is an English actress, broadcaster, comedian, presenter and writer. Originally coming to prominence through her comedy partnership with Mel Giedroyc in ''Mel and Sue'', she has since become best ...
announced that they would not be moving to the new network, followed shortly after by Berry. On the same day as Berry, Hollywood announced that he would be staying with the show.
The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards named his 2005 book ''100 Great Breads'' as the "Top Bread and Pastry Book" for that year.
[
In 2008, Hollywood created an ]almond
The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...
and roquefort
Roquefort is a sheep milk cheese from Southern France, and is one of the world's best known blue cheeses. Though similar cheeses are produced elsewhere, EU law dictates that only those cheeses aged in the natural Combalou caves of Roquefort-sur ...
sourdough
Sourdough or sourdough bread is a bread made by the fermentation of dough using wild lactobacillaceae and yeast. Lactic acid from fermentation imparts a sour taste and improves keeping qualities.
History
In the ''Encyclopedia of Food Microbio ...
recipe that was said to be the most expensive bread in Britain.[ The roquefort is supplied from a specialist in France at £15 per kilo, while the flour for the bread is made by a ]miller
A miller is a person who operates a Gristmill, mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Mill (grinding), Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surname ...
in Wiltshire. Hollywood describes it as a "Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to:
* Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct
Automobiles
* Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
of loaves". Hollywood is a guest speaker at several food festival
A food festival is a festival, that uses food, often produce, as its central theme. These festivals have always been a means of uniting communities through celebrations of harvests and giving thanks for a plentiful growing season.
History
Food ...
s, including the Cumbrian Food Festival, and the BBC Good Food Show and the Cake and Bake Show, both in London. In May 2013, Hollywood began appearing as a judge on ''The American Baking Competition
''The American Baking Competition'' is a reality competition television series that aired on CBS from May 29 to July 10, 2013. It was an adaptation of ''The Great British Bake Off'' (which aired in the United States under the title ''The Great B ...
'' on CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
.
Hollywood has also starred in ''Sadie J
''Sadie J'' is a British children's television comedy-drama series about a girl named Sadie Jenkins, who is described as "the only girl in a boys' world" because she is surrounded by her Dad Steve, his apprentice Keith, her brother Danny, his b ...
'', a children's television programme. In 2013, he presented ''Paul Hollywood’s Bread'' on BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
, in which he gave advice on recipes for different types of bread; however, also featured on the series were recipes for some cakes such as the Danish pastry
A Danish pastry ( da, wienerbrød ) sometimes shortened to just Danish, especially in American English) is a multilayered, laminated sweet pastry in the ''viennoiserie'' tradition. The concept was brought to Denmark by Austrian bakers, where the r ...
. He also presented ''Paul Hollywood's Pies and Puds
''Paul Hollywood's Pies and Puds'' is a British cookery television series that was first broadcast on BBC One in November 2013. Each episode shows Paul Hollywood cooking three recipes. In addition to that, he goes around the United Kingdom looki ...
'', a cookery television series on BBC One.
In August 2015 Hollywood was featured on the BBC genealogy documentary series '' Who Do You Think You Are?'' The programme revealed that his grandfather Norman Harman, who served in the Army during 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 ...
, saw action in the Tunisia Campaign
The Tunisian campaign (also known as the Battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the World War II, Second World War, between Axis powers, Axis and Allies of World War II, Allied ...
and at the Battle of Anzio
The Battle of Anzio was a battle of the Italian Campaign of World War II that took place from January 22, 1944 (beginning with the Allied amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle) to June 5, 1944 (ending with the capture of Rome). The op ...
and that his great-great-grandfather, Kenneth MacKenzie, had been a policeman in the City of Glasgow Police
The City of Glasgow Police or Glasgow City Police was the police of the City of Glasgow, Scotland. In the 17th century, Scottish cities used to hire watchmen to guard the streets at night, augmenting a force of unpaid citizen constables. On 30 ...
in the 1850s. Hollywood's great-great-great-grandfather, Donald MacKenzie, had been a crofter
A croft is a fenced or enclosed area of land, usually small and arable, and usually, but not always, with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has tenure and use of the land, typically as a tenant farmer, especially in rural area ...
in Poolewe
Poolewe ( gd, Poll Iù) is a small village in Wester Ross in the North West Highlands of Scotland, about northwest of Inverness, by Loch Ewe. The River Ewe, one of the shortest in Scotland, joins the sea less than from Inverewe Garden, renowned ...
, Wester Ross
Wester Ross () is an area of the Northwest Highlands of Scotland in the council area of Highland. The area is loosely defined, and has never been used as a formal administrative region in its own right, but is generally regarded as lying to the ...
. Donald had also been the post-runner between Poolewe and Dingwall
Dingwall ( sco, Dingwal, gd, Inbhir Pheofharain ) is a town and a royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,491. It was an east-coast harbour that now lies inland. Dingwall Castle was once the biggest cast ...
, where he delivered post on foot over a distance of . He covered this distance every week, during his forties, on foot for over a decade. He lived into his 80s.
In May and June 2017 he presented ''Paul Hollywood's Big Continental Road Trip''. In December 2017, Hollywood appeared as a judge on ''The Great American Baking Show
''The Great American Baking Show'' is an American cooking competition television series and an adaptation of ''The Great British Bake Off'' (which is aired in the United States under the title ''The Great British Baking Show''). Its first season a ...
'', the second incarnation of the ''GBBO'' series in the United States.
November 2019, the four-part series ''Paul Goes to Hollywood'' premiered on Food Network
Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ...
; the series follows Paul Hollywood on a 3000-mile culinary road trip
A road trip, sometimes spelled roadtrip, is a long-distance journey on the road. Typically, road trips are long distances travelled by automobile.
History
First road trips by automobile
The world's first recorded long-distance road trip by t ...
across America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, travelling from New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
to Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
onboard a Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depressi ...
.
Hollywood travelled across Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
to discover some of the finest culinary experiences the country has to offer in the three-part Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
series called ''Paul Hollywood Eats Japan''; aired during April–May 2020.
In December 2020, Hollywood was featured in a two-part Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
series called ''The Great British Bake Off: Best Bits''; celebrating some of the most memorable moments from the first ten years of the series.
Later in 2022, the three-part series ''Paul Hollywood Eats Mexico'' will premier on Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
; the series follows Paul Hollywood as he experiences authentic local cuisine on a culinary tour across Mexico.
Motor racing
In 2015 Hollywood began his racing career, making his debut in the Beechdean AMR Aston Martin
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...
Vantage GT4 with Andrew Howard, founder of Beechdean Dairies. The pair qualified second in the Britcar Trophy Championship's first round at Silverstone
Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...
taking second in class in both races.[tsl-timing.com](_blank)
Britcar Trophy Championship, Silverstone, 03/29/2015 He also competed at Le Mans in 2015 in the Aston Martin festival. Hollywood has also competed in GT Cup with Jonny Adam and finished first in class. He entered the British GT championship in 2016 and competed in the last three rounds with Jamie Chadwick
Jamie Laura Chadwick (born 20 May 1998) is a British racing driver who races for Andretti Autosport in Indy NXT. She won the inaugural W Series season in 2019, before retaining her title in 2021 and 2022. She currently holds the records for t ...
as his driving partner. In July 2017 he came first in class at the Dunlop endurance race at Silverstone in an Aston Martin GT4, and in November 2017 he raced in his first 24 hr race at Circuit of the Americas
Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a Grade 1 FIA-specification motor racing track and facilities located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Austin, Texas, in the United States. The facility is home to the Formula One United States Grand ...
coming second in class in an Aston Martin GT8.
Personal life
Hollywood met his former wife Alexandra in Cyprus where he was a head baker at a five star hotel and she was a scuba diving
Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...
instructor. They later married on the island. They have a son.
Hollywood separated from Alexandra in 2013 after having an affair with his ''The American Baking Competition
''The American Baking Competition'' is a reality competition television series that aired on CBS from May 29 to July 10, 2013. It was an adaptation of ''The Great British Bake Off'' (which aired in the United States under the title ''The Great B ...
'' co-judge Marcela Valladolid
Marcela Luz Valladolid (born July 19, 1978) is an American chef and author. She was the host of the Food Network television series ''Mexican Made Easy'', and a judge on the Food Network series '' Best Baker in America''.
Early life
Valladolid wa ...
. They later reconciled, then separated again in November 2017. They divorced in July 2019. In August 2019 Hollywood split from 23-year-old girlfriend Summer Monteys-Fullam, ending a two-year relationship.
Bibliography
*''100 Great Breads'' (2004) Cassell, London
*''How to Bake'' (2012) Bloomsbury
*''Paul Hollywood’s Bread'' (2013) Bloomsbury, London
*''Paul Hollywood’s Pies and Puds'' (2013) Bloomsbury, London
*''Paul Hollywood’s British Baking'' (2014) Bloomsbury USA
*''The Weekend Baker'' (2016) Michael Joseph, London
*''A Baker’s Life'' (2017) Bloomsbury, London
*''100 Great Breads'' (2020) Cassell, London
*''The Great British Bake Off: Love to Bake'' (2020) Sphere
A sphere () is a Geometry, geometrical object that is a solid geometry, three-dimensional analogue to a two-dimensional circle. A sphere is the Locus (mathematics), set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three ...
, London
*''Great British Baking Show Book'' (28 September 2021) Mobius
*''Bake'' (9 June 2022) Bloomsbury Publishing
Bloomsbury Publishing plc is a British worldwide publishing house of fiction and non-fiction. It is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index. Bloomsbury's head office is located in Bloomsbury, an area of the London Borough of Camden. It has a U ...
Notes
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hollywood, Paul
1966 births
British bakers
English television chefs
People from Wallasey
Living people
BBC television presenters
Britcar drivers
24H Series drivers
English chefs