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 ...
, best known for his association with British chef
Jamie Oliver
James Trevor Oliver MBE OSI (born 27 May 1975) is an English chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. He is known for his casual approach to cuisine, which has led him to front numerous television shows and open many restaurants.
Oliver reach ...
.
Cooking career
Born in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...
Box Hill Institute of TAFE
Box Hill Institute is a provider of vocational and higher education located in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne in Victoria. The Box Hill Institute has three locations in Box Hill (Elgar, Nelson & Whitehorse), two in Lilydale (John St and Ja ...
, and first worked at Caffe e Cucina in
South Yarra
South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a popu ...
. Working around Australia, and eventually Europe, Puttock first met Jamie Oliver in 1999 at River Café in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, where both of them worked for a time. Puttock returned to Melbourne, where he set up his own Italian restaurant, Termini, and appeared as a regular guest chef on the Australian version of '' Ready Steady Cook'', a cooking game show based on a British format.
In 2001, he was contacted by Oliver, now a well-known celebrity chef, who asked for his help in setting up a training restaurant for underprivileged young people. Puttock returned to London, and helped Oliver set up the first
Fifteen restaurant
''Jamie's Kitchen'' is a five-part British documentary television series that aired on Channel 4 from 5 November to 10 December 2002. It follows chef Jamie Oliver as he attempts to train a group of 15 disadvantaged youth, who will—if they comp ...
in
Hoxton
Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. As a part of Shoreditch, it is often considered to be part of the East End – the historic core of wider East London. It was historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. It l ...
,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. The creation of the restaurant and training scheme formed the basis of a 2002 TV series on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
, ''
Jamie's Kitchen
''Jamie's Kitchen'' is a five-part British documentary television series that aired on Channel 4 from 5 November to 10 December 2002. It follows chef Jamie Oliver as he attempts to train a group of 15 disadvantaged youth, who will—if they comp ...
''. Puttock remained at Fifteen as executive head chef for several years, until homesickness prompted him to suggest to Oliver that they set up an Australian version of Fifteen in his hometown of Melbourne.
Oliver agreed, and in 2006, a follow-up series '' Jamie's Kitchen Australia'' was shown on Australia's
Network Ten
Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of fiv ...
, which chronicled the establishment of
Fifteen Melbourne
Fifteen restaurant and its associated charity was a concept originally created by British chef Jamie Oliver in London in 2002 when he realised he could use his skills and energy to offer disadvantaged and marginalised young people with tough bac ...
and the training of its staff.
Puttock was a guest judge on ''
My Kitchen Rules
''My Kitchen Rules'' (often abbreviated as ''MKR'') is an Australian competitive cooking game show broadcast on the Seven Network since 2010. The show is currently hosted and judged by chef Manu Feildel, who has appeared in every season of the ...
'', along with fellow guest judges
Karen Martini
Karen Martini (born 20 September 1971) is an Australian chef, restaurateur, writer and television presenter.
Early life
Martini was born in Greensborough, Victoria and is now living in Melbourne who began cooking at a young age. At 15 she u ...
,
Guy Grossi
Guy Grossi (born 13 May 1965) is an Italian-Australian chef and media personality. He owns several restaurants in Melbourne.
In 1996, Grossi was awarded the ''L'insegna Del Ristorante Italiano'' by the president of Italy, for his dedication t ...
Pete Evans
Peter Daryl Evans (born 29 August 1973) is an Australian chef, and former television presenter, who was a former judge of the competitive cooking show ''My Kitchen Rules''. Evans has been heavily criticised for spreading misinformation about ...
.
Other television programs that Puttock appeared in after returning to Melbourne include, Lifestyle (Australian TV channel) FOOD TV series, Tobie and Matt - Europe and Asia (2008) as well as co-hosting ‘Wonderful Indonesia Flavours’ Season One and Two for the Asian Food Channel (2015 and 2016).
Puttock has written and released four best selling cookbooks, Daily Italian (2006), Italian Local (2008), Cook like an Italian (2010) and The Chef Gets Healthy (2015), which sees Tobie take a new direction toward healthy eating and a balanced lifestyle. Puttock took a huge interest in plant-based cooking describing himself as “plant curious”. In 2018, Tobie released his fifth cook book titled “SuperNatural”. Puttock also created a series of short format video cook eBooks for 25 countries through
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...
.
In 2013, after over 20 years in restaurants, Puttock turned his focus to a YouTube channel. He also worked closely with Oliver and
Woolworths
Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to:
Businesses
* F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores
* Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shop ...
on an online video series ‘Jamie's Table’.
At the beginning of 2018, Puttock accepted the role as Creative Director of Oliver's Ministry of Food Australia with the aim to encourage more Australians to eat a healthy and balanced diet.
Puttock consults for Oliver's 'Jamie's Italian Australia' and an ambassador for
Prahran Market
Prahran Market is a food market in South Yarra, an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Located on Commercial Road near Chapel Street, it was established in neighbouring Prahran in the 1860s before moving to its present location in 1 ...
in Melbourne.
Personal life
Puttock married his girlfriend of five years, Georgia Katz, on 7 April 2007.
He is the godfather of Jamie Oliver's second daughter, Daisy Boo, born April 2003.Kizilos, Katherine Recipes for success ''
The Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...
Penguin Books Australia
Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.1974 births
Living peopleAustralian television chefs