English restaurateur and celebrity chef
This British surname is
barrelled
, being made up of multiple names. It should be written as
Worrall Thompson
, not
Thompson
.
Antony Worrall Thompson
|
---|
Worrall Thompson in November 2006
|
Born
| Henry Anthony Cardew Worrall Thompson
(
1951-05-01
)
1 May 1951
(age 73)
|
---|
Nationality
| British
|
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Other names
| AWT
Wozza
|
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Education
| King's School, Canterbury
Westminster Kingsway College
|
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Occupation(s)
| Celebrity chef
, television presenter, radio broadcaster
|
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Spouses
| -
Jill Thompson
(
m.
1977;
div.
1980)
-
Militza Miller
(
m.
1983;
div.
1994)
-
Jacinta Shiel
(
m.
1996)
|
---|
Children
| 5
|
---|
Henry Antony Cardew Worrall Thompson
(born 1 May 1951) is an English restaurateur and
celebrity chef
, television presenter and radio broadcaster.
Early life
[
edit
]
Worrall Thompson was born in
Stratford-upon-Avon
,
Warwickshire
. His parents, Michael Ingham (real name Peter Michael Worrall Thompson)
[1]
and Joanna Duncan, were both actors.
[2]
He was educated at the
King's School
, Canterbury, where he sustained facial injuries while playing
rugby
. He had to wait until he was twenty-one years old before he could have
plastic surgery
to correct the disfigurement. As a child he suffered from
rickets
.
[3]
Early career
[
edit
]
After he left school, he studied
hotel management
at
Westminster Kingsway College
. Taking his first catering job in
Essex
, it is rumoured that his grandmother refused to write to him because she could not bring herself to write "Essex" on the envelope.
[4]
In 1978, he moved to London and became
sous-chef
at Brinkley's Restaurant at
Fulham Road
, becoming
head chef
one year later. The following year he took a sabbatical in France, eating and working his way around the local cuisine. After this he returned to Britain and started producing pans with his business partner Hassan.
[
citation needed
]
Restaurants
[
edit
]
Prior to opening his first restaurant, Worrall Thompson was Executive Chef at 190 Queens Gate in
South Kensington
, London. He opened his first restaurant, Menage a Trois, in
Knightsbridge
in 1981, notable for only serving starters and puddings.
[4]
He then launched several successful restaurants, including Wiz and Woz in west London and Metro in
Jersey
, all of which reflect his somewhat individual approach to food.
[
citation needed
]
Until late 2006, he was Catering Director for Old Luxters Barn, in
Buckinghamshire
.
[
citation needed
]
In February 2009, his restaurant holding company AWT Restaurants was placed into
administration
. Four restaurants closed ? the Notting Grill in west London, the Barnes Grill in south-west London, together with two pubs in
Henley-on-Thames
, the Lamb Inn and the Greyhound. This caused the loss of 60 jobs. Worrall Thompson personally bought back the remaining Windsor Grill in
Berkshire
, the Kew Grill in south-west London, and a
delicatessen
, the Windsor Larder.
[
citation needed
]
It was revealed in April 2009 that Thompson's restaurant chain trouble was the result of its being "overstretched" and that his restaurants "had debts of more than £800,000 and owed 214 creditors money."
[5]
Television
[
edit
]
Worrall Thompson made his first television appearance on
BBC2
's
Food and Drink
,
before appearing on
Ready Steady Cook
from 1994.
[
citation needed
]
In 2001, he appeared on
Lily Savage's Blankety Blank
,
[6]
and in 2003, he appeared in the second series of
I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!
, which led to him replacing
Gregg Wallace
as the host of
BBC2
's
Saturday Kitchen
. The show moved to
BBC1
to replace Saturday morning children's television. He later presented the
ITV
series
Saturday Cooks
. The show was renamed
Daily Cooks Challenge
for the prime-time series which he also presented. He represented the
Midlands
and
East of England
in series one of the
BBC
's
Great British Menu
but was beaten by
Galton Blackiston
,
[7]
after burning the meat course of his entry prior to the judging phase.
[
citation needed
]
He was also on the mini series
Trawlermen: Celebs at sea
, in 2019.
He was the first ever contestant to score a 100-point correct answer on
Pointless
during his appearance on
Pointless Celebrities
in 2013.
Awards and honours
[
edit
]
Worrall Thompson has won the
Mouton Rothschild
Menu Competition, and the
Meilleur Ouvrier de Grande Bretagne (MOGB)
.
[4]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Named Anthony at birth, he dropped the 'h' in his teenage years and has omitted it ever since. His reasoning is that the 'h' is not pronounced so adds little value to the name.
[
citation needed
]
Worrall Thompson married Jill Thompson when he was 26, the couple divorced five years later. In 1983, he married an Australian, Militza Millar. The couple had two children and divorced. Since 1996, he has been married to his third wife, Jacinta Shiel. The couple live in
High Wycombe
and have two children.
[
citation needed
]
In January 2012, he received a
police caution
for
shoplifting
items, including wine and cheese, from the
Henley-on-Thames
branch of
Tesco
on a total of five occasions.
[8]
[9]
In 2015, he spoke of how the total of five shoplifting attempts was £70.68 and how he thinks he did it for the excitement; he was depressed and sought counselling.
[
citation needed
]
Worrall Thompson is a patron of
FOREST
,
[10]
a UK-based, tobacco industry-financed lobby opposing government regulation of tobacco and
ASH
. In February 2010, in a feature for Radio 4's
Woman's Hour
, he said that he had given up
smoking
.
[11]
He has been involved in fundraising for the
Conservative Party
[12]
and supported British withdrawal from the
European Union
.
[13]
In 2003, Worrall Thompson funded the Antony Worrall Thompson Trophy ? a charity football cup played by eight
semi-professional
teams in the summer, pre-season. However, due to Worrall Thompson's financial issues, the trophy lasted initially one year with the 2003?2004 final being contested between
Altrincham F.C.
and
Northwich Victoria F.C.
Altrincham won the game 4?3. The tournament was resurrected in the 2017?2018 season.
[
citation needed
]
October 2010 saw Worrall Thompson join
Uncovered
magazine as a regular columnist offering recipes and advice on eating for good health and seasons' finest produce.
[14]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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Roman times
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Middle Ages
to 15th century
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16th century
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17th century
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18th century
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19th century
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20th century
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21st century
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Related
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