Ainsley Harriott is a charismatic chef who was born February 28, 1957. The 51 year old was born in Balham, where he still lives today.
His career as a chef and entertainer has been built up over the past 25 years. At 16, he was made junior trainee in a West End restaurant and later graduated to commis chef. He then pursued his career in top hotels and gained experience in all aspects of the craft.
Ainsley has come along way since first appearing on TV in 1993 on the sci-fi series Red Dwarf and is now best known for his work with the BBC show Ready Steady Cook. He has also hosted a verity of different shows including Ainsley's Big Cook Out, Can't Cook Won’t Cook and Ainsley's Gourmet Express.
But Ainsley wasn’t always a chef, and gained his fame for his comedy talents in his duet, The Calypso twins. The band toured all over Europe, but its greatest success was in the UK where they appeared on TV several times, and even released a record. This success led to him being contacted by BBC Radio 5, to present their show, More Nosh, Less Dosh.
To date, Ainsley has become a best selling author who has released 12 books, the newest of which is ‘Ainsley Harriott Fast and Fabulous Meals in Minutes’, which was released on the 6th March 2008. He has also released many co-editions in Dutch, Danish, Slovenian and American, selling over 2 million books worldwide.
His philosophy is that simple dishes can be just as good as fancy ones and he advises people to "use fresh ingredients, have everything ready beforehand and never say 'it's too difficult'!"
