The 10 best TV chefs — from Nigella to Keith Floyd

Times

4 hours ago

This week, as the excellent Disney+ drama series The Bear returns for a fourth season, chefs on TV are front of mind. British television has a great tradition of real-life celebrity chefs, each with a unique style and offering a different spin on the culinary experience. So who should be awarded a Michelin star for their cooking on screen, and who needs to continue to work on their menu? Here, our critic picks his favourite British celebrity chefs.
The irreverent and unconventional style of Clarissa Dickson Wright and Jennifer Paterson made them near instant stars when they roared on to our screens on a Triumph Thunderbird and sidecar in the 1990s. The one-time barrister and the former Spectator food writer cooked up a storm with a healthy lack of pretension and a whole lot of (not always so healthy) accessible ingredients.
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Padstow-based Stein inspired have-a-go-at-home chefs with his accessible approach to cooking. Uncomplicated recipes and influences from across the globe fuse with a friendly manner and beautiful backdrops as he cooks. From his earliest guest appearances on Keith Floyd's shows in the 1980s through to Rick Stein's Food Stories in 2024, he has become one of our best-loved chefs.
Berry, who is 90, has published more than 75 cookery books since she trained at Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in France, aged 22. Although she has hosted numerous general cooking shows across her career, she is best known to modern viewers for her baking prowess and won over a generation of fans after judging The Great British Bake Off opposite Paul Hollywood between 2010 and 2016.
Dave Myers and Si King's easy charm and genuine friendship, twinned with motorbikes and interesting friends they met along the way, made their shows compelling. The Hairy Bikers' Cookbook began in 2004 and was so popular it spawned a number of globetrotting series. The pair's unique appeal was shown by the public outpouring of emotion after Myers' death in 2024.
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You'll struggle to find an amateur cook's bookshelf in Britain that doesn't have at least one Delia Smith title on it. Her television shows (and accompanying books) span decades and are considered by many the last word in how to prepare a host of dishes. With her brisk, no-nonsense style, she revolutionised cookery in Britain, inspiring millions to transform a teatime chore into a creative skill.
Rhodes was a serious chef with a serious attitude. He held a Michelin star at 26, and by the 1990s had become one of the best-known culinary names in the country. Rhodes Around Britain in 1994 began a journey that led to a raft of cookery shows. It was his love for British food and nonchalant presenting style that made him stand out, and paved the way for many of the more recent greats, from Gordon Ramsay to Jamie Oliver.
If this list were decided on worldwide fame, Ramsay would surely be No 1, having broken America and built a global brand. But for all the effing and blinding, Kitchen Nightmares and fronting of Hell's Kitchen, we don't see Gordon doing much cooking on the TV any more. And yet, whether he's preparing food or delivering scathing putdowns, he is a culinary television phenomenon.
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Initially Lawson was parodied for her breathily indulgent style, but she loves food and isn't afraid to share that joy with her audience. Her intimate and playful style draws the viewer in and makes them feel like she's a friend sharing secrets. The focus remains on pleasure and comfort, and her Christmas shows are almost as unshakeable a part of the season as turkey and stuffing.
Many of the modern charismatic and irreverent TV chefs owe a lot to Keith Floyd. Glass of wine in hand, he was an entertainer, a passionate gourmand and a presenter with flair who was unafraid to get messy and make mistakes. His unscripted shows on location across the globe featured local chefs, insightful chat and unpolished recipes. His programmes in the 1980s and 1990s really did change TV and cookery.
Oliver exploded on to our screens in 1999 as the fresh-faced, casually dressed and extremely energetic Naked Chef. He taught food lovers how to cook without airs and graces, and with his cookbooks became one of Britain's bestselling authors. Although he continues to make popular shows, it's for his high-impact campaigns, from improving school meals to lobbying for a sugar tax, that he is perhaps now best known. Most recently he was on our screens in the admirably honest Jamie's Dyslexia Revolution on Channel 4.Let us know your suggestion in the comments below