Theo Randall (born 1967) is an English

chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...

who specialises in

Italian cuisine Italian cuisine (, ) is a Mediterranean cuisine#CITEREFDavid1988, David 1988, Introduction, pp.101–103 consisting of the ingredients, recipes and List of cooking techniques, cooking techniques developed across the Italian Peninsula and late ...

. He is the proprietor of Theo Randall at the InterContinental Hotel London Park Lane, although he is perhaps best known for being awarded a

Michelin star The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...

at The River Café in London.

Career

Randall's career began at Chez Max in

Surbiton Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the historic county of Surrey and since 1965 it has ...

, London, where he trained in classical cooking for four years. He joined the team at The River Café in 1989. After a year he moved to California to work at

Chez Panisse Chez Panisse is a Berkeley, California, restaurant, known as one of the originators of the style of cooking known as California cuisine, and the farm-to-table movement. The restaurant emphasizes ingredients rather than technique and has develo ...

under chef

Alice Waters Alice Louise Waters (born April 28, 1944) is an American chef, restaurateur, and author. In 1971 she opened Chez Panisse, a Berkeley, California restaurant famous for its role in creating the farm-to-table movement and for pioneering Californi ...

for 12 months. He then returned to the UK where he spent fifteen years, ten of which were as Head Chef and silent partner back at The River Café where he gained his Michelin star. Randall has been called the "unsung hero" of the restaurant, and has been credited with creating The River Café's signature dishes and making it an establishment that "changed Britain's restaurant culture for good". He left The River Café to set up his own restaurant when a space became available at the

InterContinental London InterContinental London Park Lane is a luxury five-star hotel in London, England operated by the InterContinental Hotels Group. It is located at 1 Hamilton Place on Hyde Park Corner with Park Lane, close to the shopping center of Knightsbridge ...

. Theo Randall at the InterContinental London opened in February 2007 as part of a £60 million refurbishment of the hotel. In an interview he stated that he felt the need to prove to himself that he could do it. The new venture went on to be named "Italian Restaurant of the Year" at the London Restaurant Awards after it had been open for two years. He has collaborated with

Pizza Express PizzaExpress is a British multinational restaurant group, owned by a group of bondholders. It has over 470 restaurants across the United Kingdom and 100 overseas in Europe, Hong Kong, China, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, the Philippines, the Unite ...

and created four pizzas for their autumn 2008 menu. It was the first time the chain had collaborated with a

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 ...

. Randall has also attended food festivals, including Taste of London held in

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...

, and has been involved in the London Restaurant Festival. On television, he has frequently appeared on

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 ''

Saturday Kitchen ''Saturday Kitchen Live'' is a British cookery programme, that is broadcast live on BBC One every Saturday between 10.00am and 11.30am produced by Cactus TV. History 2002–2003 After a pilot hosted by Ainsley Harriott on 14 April 2001, the ...

''. In 2010, Randall started working with

ASK Italian Ask is the active verb for a direct question. Ask may also refer to: Places * Ask, Akershus, a village in Gjerdrum municipality, Viken county, Norway * Ask, Buskerud, a village in Ringerike municipality, Viken county, Norway * Ask, Vestland, a ...

restaurants as their "expert friend", developing menus and coming up with new dishes. In June 2015, he became an investor in the Azzurri Group, which owns and runs the restaurant chain. In 2015 he partnered with Gousto to bring them recipes from his latest book.

Personal life

Randall is married to Natalie, and together they have two children, Max and Lola. Lola was a student at the Lycee Francais Charles de Gaulle. They have lived in the

Chalk Farm Chalk Farm is a small urban district of north London, lying immediately north of Camden Town, in the London Borough of Camden. History Manor of Rugmere Chalk Farm was originally known as the Manor of Rugmere, an estate that was mentioned in ...

area of London since 2001 in a house that was built in the 1850s.

Bibliography

*''Pasta'' (2010) *''The

Cookbook'' (2012)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Randall, Theo 1967 births Living people British chefs People from Kingston upon Thames Head chefs of Michelin starred restaurants