Hugh Christopher Edmund Fearnley-Whittingstall (born 14 January 1965) 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 ...
, television personality, journalist,
food writer
Food writing is a genre of writing that focuses on food and includes works by food critics, food journalists, chefs and food historians.
Definition
Food writers regard food as a substance and a cultural phenomenon. John T. Edge, an American food ...
, and campaigner on food and environmental issues.
Fearnley-Whittingstall hosted the ''
River Cottage
River Cottage is a brand used for a number of ventures by television chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. These include a long-running Channel 4 television series, cookery courses, events, restaurants and products such as beer and organic yogurts.
...
'' series on the UK television channel
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 ...
, in which audiences observe his efforts to become a self-reliant,
downshifted farmer in rural England; Fearnley-Whittingstall feeds himself, his family and friends with
locally produced and sourced fruits, vegetables, fish, eggs, and meat. He has also become a campaigner on issues related to food production and the environment, such as fisheries management and animal welfare.
Fearnley-Whittingstall established River Cottage HQ in Dorset in 2004, and the operation is now based at Park Farm near Axminster in Devon. An organic
smallholding
A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology ...
, HQ is also the hub for a broad range of courses and events, and home to the River Cottage Cookery School. Fearnley-Whittingstall continues to teach and host events there on a regular basis.
Early life
Fearnley-Whittingstall was born in
Hampstead, London, to Robert Fearnley-Whittingstall, of a landed gentry family formerly of
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...
and Hawkswick,
Hertfordshire, and gardener and writer
Jane Margaret, daughter of Colonel John Hawdon Lascelles
OBE, of the
King's Royal Rifle Corps. He was brought up in
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
. He was educated at
Summer Fields School
Summer Fields is a fee-paying boys' independent day and boarding preparatory school in Summertown, Oxford. It was originally called Summerfield and used to have a subsidiary school, Summerfields, St Leonards-on-Sea (known as "Summers mi").
H ...
,
Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...
, and
St Peter's College, Oxford
St Peter's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford and is located in New Inn Hall Street, Oxford, United Kingdom. It occupies the site of two of the university's medieval halls, dating back to at least the 14th ...
, where he read philosophy and
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...
.
Early career
After a temporary relocation to Africa, where Fearnley-Whittingstall was considering a career in
wildlife conservation
Wildlife conservation refers to the practice of protecting wild species and their habitats in order to maintain healthy wildlife species or populations and to restore, protect or enhance natural ecosystems. Major threats to wildlife include habita ...
, he returned to England and became a ''
sous chef
A sous-chef is a 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 ...
'' at the
River Café in London. He has since said that "being messy" and "lacking discipline", though, made him unsuitable for working in the River Café kitchen, but that he regards his time there as a period that helped shape his current career.
Following his time at the River Café, Fearnley-Whittingstall commenced freelance journalism and was published in
''Punch'', the ''
Evening Standard
The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format.
In October 2009, after be ...
'', and
''The Sunday Times''.
Television
Early shows
Fearnley-Whittingstall's initial television exposure was on ''A Cook on the Wild Side'' (1995), an exploration of earthy cuisine.
His next series was ''TV Dinners'' (1996), in one episode of which he notoriously flambéed and puréed a
human placenta to then serve as ''pâté''.
In 2002, he presented the six-episode series, ''Treats from the Edwardian Country House''.
River Cottage
In 1997, Fearnley-Whittingstall moved into
River Cottage
River Cottage is a brand used for a number of ventures by television chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. These include a long-running Channel 4 television series, cookery courses, events, restaurants and products such as beer and organic yogurts.
...
, a former game-keeper's lodge in the grounds of Slape Manor in
Netherbury
Netherbury is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. It lies within the Dorset Council administrative area, by the small River Brit, south of Beaminster and north of Bridport. The A3066 road connecting those towns lies 0 ...
, Dorset, UK, which he had previously used as a weekend and
holiday home
A holiday cottage, holiday home, vacation home, or vacation property is accommodation used for holiday vacations, corporate travel, and temporary housing often for less than 30 days. Such properties are typically small homes, such as cottage ...
. The lodge became the setting for three Channel 4 series: ''
Escape to River Cottage'', ''
Return to River Cottage
''Return to River Cottage'' is the second series of the Channel 4 programme that follows Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall during his second year of living in the country at River Cottage, Dorset after leaving the city behind. The preceding series was ...
'', and ''
River Cottage Forever
''River Cottage Forever'' is the third in the "''River Cottage''" Channel 4 series franchise, following on from Escape to River Cottage and Return to River Cottage in which chef and journalist Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall de-camped from the ra ...
'', all directed by
Garry John Hughes. He has become an ardent supporter of the
organic movement
The organic movement broadly refers to the organizations and individuals involved worldwide in the promotion of organic food and other organic products. It started during the first half of the 20th century, when modern large-scale agricultural pr ...
. In 2004, ''
Beyond River Cottage'' followed Fearnley-Whittingstall's progress as he set up a new business,
River Cottage H.Q., on a property close to
Dottery (near
Bridport
Bridport is a market town in Dorset, England, inland from the English Channel near the confluence of the River Brit and its tributary the Asker. Its origins are Saxon and it has a long history as a rope-making centre. On the coast and wit ...
), Dorset, with his family. Underpinning his new enterprise is the selling of the produce cultivated on his property at the local marketplace, and audiences bear witness to the host's experiences as a produce seller, while also intermittently receiving the recipe lessons traditionally seen on food shows. The series concludes with a Christmas special in which a feast is brought together, consisting of a
10-bird roast using Fearnley-Whittingstall's own geese and ducks.
In 2005, a series called ''The View from River Cottage'' was produced using extracts from the four previous series, accompanied by newly recorded narration. This was followed by ''River Cottage Road Trip'' special that consisted of two newly produced one-hour instalments. During 2006, Fearnley-Whittingstall moved River Cottage HQ from the original barn near Bridport to its new premises, Park Farm, a farm near
Uplyme
Uplyme is an English village and civil parish in East Devon on the Devon-Dorset border and the River Lym, adjacent to the Dorset coastal town of Lyme Regis. It has a population of approximately 1700 recounted as 1663 at the 2011 census. ''Uply ...
on the West Dorset/East Devon border.
[rivercottage.net September newsletter.] A new series called ''The River Cottage Treatment'' was filmed there and was broadcast on Channel 4 in November 2006.
[rivercottage.net October newsletter.] This premise of this series involved guests described as "urban-dwellers, fast-food lovers, and convenient food-mongers" to spend a week with the host on the new property, the guests being required to undertake farm duties and to eat according to the River Cottage philosophy.
In 2007, Fearnley-Whittingstall presented, ''
River Cottage: Gone Fishing'', a short series that is the concept's 10th overall, in which he examines some of the lesser-known fish to be caught around the
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
. From 2008, he filmed magazine-style food programmes, produced at River Cottage HQ, based on the seasonal themes. ''
River Cottage Spring
River Cottage Spring is a Channel 4 programme that follows Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Hugh Christopher Edmund Fearnley-Whittingstall (born 14 January 1965) is an English celebrity chef, television personality, journalist, food writer, an ...
'' ran from 28 May 2008 to 25 June 2008 on Channel 4, and in one of the episodes, Fearnley-Whittingstall demonstrated his "holistic" approach to cooking by teaching a vegetarian how to slaughter, prepare, and cook lamb.
In late 2008,
River Cottage Autumn was broadcast from 16 October to 6 November 2008. In one of the autumnal episodes, Fearnley-Whittingstall, together with his friend, John, embarks on a mission to catch crustaceans at a nearby beach with the use of pots. The pair seek to catch prawns, crabs and lobsters, in addition to the blue velvet swimming crab that is commonly found at the particular coastal location where they are based. On 19 October 2009, a new series of four episodes aired on Channel 4: ''River Cottage – Winter's on the Way''. In one of the episodes from the winter series, Fearnley-Whittingstall captures, prepares, and cooks rabbits that he finds on his property and introduces viewers to
salsify; according to the host, salsify was popular during the Victorian era.
New River Cottage
In September 2010, a new series of ''River Cottage'' episodes, entitled ''River Cottage Every Day'', commenced. The series encouraged viewers to cook from scratch more frequently and was accompanied by a book of the same name.
In autumn 2011, a new series, ''River Cottage Veg'', was launched and is based on Fearnley-Whittingstall's developed awareness regarding the problematic way in which meat is produced and consumed in the modern era. During the series, the food activist addresses the challenge that he defines in the series' first episode: "A whole summer without flesh". Fearnley-Whittingstall explains further: "In the weeks ahead, I'll be expanding my vegetable horizons, seeking out new flavours and textures, and cooking up a whole raft of vegetable dishes with the same excitement and gusto that I've always bestowed on meat and fish."
A new series of River Cottage, entitled ''Hugh's Three Good Things'', aired on Channel 4 in December 2012. Accompanied by a cookbook, the series was based on the notion that a great meal can be prepared from gathering three good ingredients; in the first episode, Fearnley-Whittingstall uses beetroot, egg, and anchovies to make an open sandwich. He also competed against guest chefs in each episode and viewers were invited to challenge the television host with a superior recipe. In 2012, he presented ''River Cottage: Three Go Mad'' a three-episode series inviting various British TV personalities to River Cottage and teaching them how to cook.
New series
In August 2015, alongside
Lindsey Chapman, he hosted a series of five daily programmes 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, ...
, linked to three evening programmes ''Big Blue Live''. The series concentrated on marine wildlife around the UK coast.
In November 2015, Fearnley-Whittingstall presented ''Hugh's War on Waste'' on BBC One, campaigning against waste by food producers, retailers, and consumers.
In 2018, he filmed ''Britain's Fat Fight with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall'', a documentary for BBC One, where he explored the obesity crisis in Britain, asking food producers, restaurants, and the government to confront the crisis.
Fearnley-Whittingstall's letter to the government was signed by 97,869 people; the government responded, and on 25 June, launched a new childhood obesity strategy. Also in the programme, Fearnley-Whittingstall, in partnership with
Newcastle City Council
Newcastle City Council is the local government authority for the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne. The council consists of 78 councillors, three for each of the 26 wards in the city. It is currently controlled by the Labou ...
, launched Newcastle Can (newcastlecan.com), an initiative and experiment aimed to encourage the citizens of
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
to work together to get healthier and fitter.
On 20 June 2022, a new four-part series called ''River Cottage Reunited'' premiered on
More4
More4 is a British free-to-air television channel, owned by Channel Four Television Corporation. The channel launched on 10 October 2005. Its programming mainly focuses on lifestyle and documentaries, as well as foreign dramas.
Content
When ...
.
Guest appearances
Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstall appeared on ''Celebrity Countdown'' in 1998; he was named by former host Richard Whiteley as the ''de facto'' champion with the highest score of the series. In 1997, he appeared on Channel 4's
Time Team
''Time Team'' is a British television programme that originally aired on Channel 4 from 16 January 1994 to 7 September 2014. It returned online in 2022 for two episodes released on YouTube. Created by television producer Tim ...
live dig in
Turkdean
Turkdean is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, approximately to the east of Gloucester. It lies in the Cotswolds, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
History
Turkdean was recorded as ''Turcandene'' in the 8th century an ...
. A year later, he again joined the Time Team live dig, this time at
Bawsey
Bawsey is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is about east of the town of King's Lynn and west of the city of Norwich. The village sits astride of the B1145 Kings Lynn to Mundesley road that dissects No ...
.
He then appeared on the first series of Channel 4's ''
The F Word'' in 2005, advising
Gordon Ramsay on the rearing of turkeys at Ramsay's London home; the turkeys are eaten in the last episode of the series. Further appearances on ''The F-Word'' in 2006 and 2007 involved Fearnley-Whittingstall advising Ramsay on the rearing of pigs and lambs; again, the consumption of the livestock occurs in the last episodes of the series.
At the start of 2008, Fearnley-Whittingstall – along with fellow celebrity chefs
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 reac ...
and Ramsay – was featured in Channel 4's ''Big Food Fight'' season; his contribution to the season was ''
Hugh's Chicken Run
''Hugh's Chicken Run'' is a programme as part of Channel 4's 'Food Fight' series in which celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall launched the campaign to encourage more consumers to demand free range chicken. Fearnley-Whittingstall was join ...
'', which was shown over three consecutive nights. He created three chicken farms in
Axminster
Axminster is a market town and civil parish on the eastern border of the county of Devon in England. It is from the county town of Exeter. The town is built on a hill overlooking the River Axe which heads towards the English Channel at Ax ...
(one intensive, one commercial free-range, and the third a community farm project staffed by volunteers), culminating in a "Chicken Out!" campaign to encourage the eating of
free-range chicken. In 2008, based on the success of the project, further discussion occurred among Channel 4
executives regarding the filming of another season.
In 2009, Fearnley-Whittingstall became a permanent team captain, opposing a different guest captain each week, on a food-based panel game, ''The Big Food Fight'', which began on Channel 4 on 8 September; this is not to be confused with the earlier project of the same name. On 12 June, he was a guest on BBC One's ''Have I Got News For You'' and he recorded a guest spot on BBC Radio 4's ''Desert Island Discs'' that was broadcast on 26 July and again on 31 July 2009.
In 2010, Fearnley-Whittingstall made an appearance on the BBC One comedy panel show, ''
Would I Lie to You?'', with host
Rob Brydon
Robert Brydon Jones (; born 3 May 1965) is a Welsh actor, comedian, impressionist, presenter, singer and writer. He played Dr Paul Hamilton in the Australian/British comedy series ''Supernova'', Bryn West in the BBC sitcom '' Gavin & Stacey'' ...
, who awarded him the "Liar of the Week" prize.
Fearnley-Whittingstall also appeared on
BBC Two's satirical music panel show, ''
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first hos ...
'', on an episode recorded in 2008; airing was delayed until 19 January 2011, due to the scandals surrounding
Russell Brand that led to his resignation from the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.
Fearnley-Whittingstall published ''Cuisine Bon Marché'' in 1994. He wrote the cookbooks, ''The River Cottage Year'', ''The River Cottage Fish Book'' (with Nick Fisher), ''The River Cottage Cookbook'' (winner of the Andre Simon Food Book of the Year award, the Guild of Food Writers’ Michael Smith Award, and the Glenfiddich Trophy and Food Book of the Year), and ''The River Cottage Meat Book'' (the last two books with photographs by Simon Wheeler). His most recent book, published on 29 March 2011, is ''River Cottage Every Day''.
He has written articles for ''
'' since 2001. A collection of his short articles was published in October 2006 under the title ''Hugh Fearlessly Eats It All: Dispatches from the Gastronomic Frontline''. He edited ''The Big Bento Box of Unuseless Japanese Inventions'', written by
.
In January 2008, Fearnley-Whittingstall called on hospitality and food-service operators to use less intensively farmed chicken:
In 2012, Fearnley-Whittingstall filmed a Channel 4 series, ''Hugh's Fish Fight''. The series was broadcast in three parts on Channel 4. The campaign's website said it had received over 700,000 signatures by 2012.
In November 2015, he filmed ''Hugh's War on Waste''. with the BBC and began a campaign to reduce consumer waste in the UK. The two programmes focused on food and clothing waste, both by supermarkets and by shoppers in their own homes.
In 2018, he filmed ''Britain's Fat Fight with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall'', where he explored the
, asking food producers, restaurants and the government to confront the crisis.
.
Fearnley-Whittingstall helped develop Stinger, a nettle-flavoured ale, with the
brewery.
Another Fearnley-Whittingstall project was the conversion of an old inn in Axminster to an organic produce shop and canteen, which opened in September 2007.
In 2009, he became a patron of
, an international child-protection charity working in Africa, Asia, and South America.
In 2009, ''The River Cottage Summer's Here'' programme promoted the Landshare project that seeks to bring together people who wish to grow fruit and vegetables, but have no land, with landowners willing to donate spare land for cultivation. The online project was commissioned by Channel 4.
Fearnley-Whittingstall is a Vice-president of international
.
with their four children.
Fearnley-Whittingstall also runs the River Cottage Canteen and Deli in the centre of
. He supports the
.
In 2012, his barn at River Cottage was damaged by fire.
Fearnley-Whittingstall has published these books:
* ''TV Dinners: In Search of Exciting Home Cooking'' (1996)
* ''A Cook on the Wild Side'' (A Channel Four book) (1997)
* ''The Best of TV Dinners'' (1999)
* ''The River Cottage Cookbook'' (2001)
* ''The River Cottage Year'' (2003)
* ''The River Cottage Meat Book'' (2004)
* ''Preserved'' with Nick Sandler and Johnny Acton (2004)
* ''The Real Good Life: A Practical Guide to a Healthy, Organic Lifestyle'' with the Soil Association (2005)
* ''Soup Kitchen,'' with
and Annabel Buckingham (2005)
* ''The River Cottage Family Cookbook'' with Fizz Carr (2005)
* ''Hugh Fearlessly Eats it All: Dispatches from the Gastronomic Front line'' (2006)
* ''Little Book of Soup'' with Thomasina Miers, Annabel Buckingham (2006)
* ''The Taste of Britain,'' with Laura Mason, and Catherine Brown (2006)
* ''The River Cottage Diary 2008'' (2007)
* ''The River Cottage Fish Book'' with Nick Fisher (2007)
* ''River Cottage Diary 2010'' (2009)
* ''River Cottage Every Day'' (2009)
* ''The River Cottage Bread Handbook'' (US Version) with Daniel Stevens (2010)
* ''The River Cottage Preserves Handbook'' with Pam Corbin (2010)
* ''River Cottage Veg Every Day!'' (2011)
* ''Three Good Things on a Plate'' (2012)
* ''River Cottage Fruit Every Day!'' (2013)
* ''River Cottage Light & Easy: Healthy Recipes for Every Day'' (2014)
* ''River Cottage Love Your Leftovers: Recipes for the Resourceful Cook'' (2015)
* ''River Cottage Much More Veg'' (2017)
* ''War on Plastic with Hugh and Anita'' (2019)
* ''Eat Better Forever: 7 Ways to Transform Your Diet (2020)''
* ''River Cottage Good Comfort: Best-Loved Favourites Made Better for You (2022)''