Ainsley Harriott

Ainsley Harriott (born 28 February 1957) is an English chef, television presenter, and entertainer. He is known for his BBC cooking shows Can't Cook, Won't Cook and Ready Steady Cook.
== Early life ==
Harriott was born in Paddington, London on 28 February 1957, to the pianist and singer, Chester Leroy Harriott (1933–2013),Van Wilmer, "Chester Harriott obituary", The Guardian, 15 July 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2017. and his wife Peppy. He has Jamaican heritage. Harriott trained at Westminster Kingsway College (formerly Westminster Technical College), and obtained an apprenticeship at Verrey's restaurant in the West End, later working as a commis chef.
== Career ==
Harriott's talents lie in comedy and singing as well as cooking and Harriott formed the Calypso Twins with schoolfriend Paul Boross, releasing a hit record in the early 1990s, "World Party". The Calypso Twins went on to be regular performers at the Comedy Store and Jongleurs; they also performed in America and on TV and radio shows. Harriott became head chef at the Long Room of Lord's Cricket Ground. He was asked to present More Nosh, Less Dosh on BBC Radio 5 Live,BBC Good Food: Ainsley Harriott bbcgoodfood.com and also has appeared as an extra in Hale and Pace.
=== Television work ===
Harriott became the resident chef on Good Morning with Anne and Nick and later the main presenter of Can't Cook, Won't Cook and Ready Steady Cook, both shows involving members of the public. He has presented more straightforward how-to-cook programmes such as Ainsley's Barbecue Bible, Ainsley's Meals in Minutes, Ainsley's Big Cook Out and Ainsley's Gourmet Express.
Harriott played the part of a GELF chief in the sci-fi comedy series Red Dwarf in 1993. In 1998, for the show's 10th anniversary, Harriott presented a special edition of Can't Cook, Won't Cook called Can't Smeg, Won't Smeg with the cast of the show cooking a meal while remaining in character.
In 2000, Harriott made his debut on US television with The Ainsley Harriott Show, syndicated by Buena Vista Television, which ran for more than 100 episodes. Following this he went on to host Ready.. Set... Cook!, the US version of Ready Steady Cook. Ainsley was guest chef on Something for the Weekend on 10 May 2009 and 21 February 2010 alongside guests JLS. In February 2010, Harriott joined the morning show GMTV with Lorraine featuring cookery recipes. From 2002 until 2007, Harriott appeared in TV adverts for Fairy Liquid.
In September 2008, Harriott took part in the genealogy documentary series Who Do You Think You Are?. Harriott knew that his great-grandfather Ebenezer Harriott was in the colonial West India Regiment, and had assumed that they were descended from slaves. In Barbados, he confirmed that his great-grandfather had a distinguished military career, and learnt that he had fought for the British Empire in the Sierra Leone Hut Tax War of 1898 – an increasingly violent protest against British tax collecting in the protectorate. Although Harriott had assumed that his great-great-grandfather, James Gordon Harriott, was a black slave, he was revealed to be the descendant of a long line of white slave owners. James Harriott was found on the 1825 register, owning eight slaves. The registers had revealed that James Gordon's father was George David Harriott. A deed of sale showed that George Harriott purchased slaves from his own father when he was just four years old. The Harriott family were from Jamaica.
Harriott appeared in the final My Family Christmas special in 2010 "Mary Christmas". On 11 August 2015, he was announced as the second contestant of the thirteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing. On 5 September 2015 it was revealed Harriott was paired with professional dancer Natalie Lowe for the thirteenth series. He was the fourth contestant to be voted off and finished twelfth.
=== Writing ===
Harriott is a best-selling author, publishing twelve books as well as numerous others in conjunction with his television shows. Including foreign-language translations, he has sold over 2 million books worldwide.
=== Other work ===
Harriott was the President of the Television and Radio Industries Club (TRIC) 2004–05 and presented their awards ceremony that year. He markets his own range of food, including couscous, risotto, soups and cereal bars.
Harriott played the role of the Narrator in The Rocky Horror Show at the New Theatre, Cardiff in March 2010, at the Churchill Theatre, BromleyBromley Times: A star for B movie stage fright delight bromleytimes.co.uk in October 2010, and again at the Richmond Theatre in November 2010.
He made a guest appearance in the BBC radio comedy series Giles Wemmbley Hogg Goes Off as himself in 2006.
== Personal life ==
Harriott married former costume designer Clare Fellows, the youngest sister of comedian actor Graham Fellows. They have two children. In November 2012, the couple were reported to have separated and they remain on good terms.
Harriott is a supporter of Arsenal F.C.
== Filmography ==
Year(s) 	Title 	Role
1988 	Hale & Pace 	Extra
1990–1991 	Davro 	Extra
1992–1996 	Good Morning with Anne and Nick 	Resident chef
1993 	Red Dwarf 	Gelf Chief
1994–2010 	Ready Steady Cook 	Chef / presenter
1995–2000 	Can't Cook, Won't Cook 	Presenter
1997 	Ainsley's Barbecue Bible 	Presenter
1998 	Ainsley's Meals in Minutes 	Presenter
1999 	Ainsley's Big Cook Out 	Presenter
2000–2001 	Gourmet Express 	Presenter
2000–2001 	Ready.. Set... Cook! 	Presenter
2000 	The Ainsley Harriott Show 	Presenter
2003 	The Mark Steel Lectures 	Robert Boyle
2005–2007 	City Hospital 	Presenter
2010, 2017	Lorraine 	Guest chef
2013 	Great British Food Revival 	Presenter
2015 	Ainsley Harriott's Street Food 	Presenter
2015 	Strictly Come Dancing 	Contestant; 12th place
2015 	Len and Ainsley's Big Food Adventure	Presenter, with Len Goodman
2016 	The Best Dishes Ever 	Narrator
== Bibliography ==
* 1999 Ainsley Harriott's Meals In Minutes ()
* 2000 Ainsley Harriott's Barbecue Bible ()
* 2002 Ainsley Harriott's Low-fat Meals In Minutes ()
* 2002 Ainsley Harriott's Gourmet Express ()
* 2003 Ainsley Harriott's All New Meals In Minutes ()
* 2003 Ainsley Harriott's Gourmet Express 2 ()
* 2003 The Top 100 Recipes from Ready Steady Cook ()
* 2004 Ainsley Harriott's Friends and Family Cookbook ()
* 2005 Ainsley's Ultimate Barbecue Bible ()
* 2006 Ainsley Harriott's All New Meals In Minutes ()
* 2006 Ainsley Harriott's Feel Good Cookbook ()
* 2008 Ainsley Harriott's Fresh and Fabulous Meals in Minutes ()
* 2011 My Kitchen Table – Ainsley Harriott: 100 Meals in Minutes ()
== References ==
== External links ==
* Official website 
* 
Category:1957 births
Category:Living people
Category:English chefs
Category:English entertainers
Category:English people of Barbadian descent
Category:English people of Jamaican descent
Category:English male singers
Category:English television chefs
Category:English television presenters
Category:English writers
Category:People from London
Category:Black British television personalities
Category:20th-century English singers
Category:Internet memes