About Ainsley
Ainsley Harriott, who, after 17 years as one of the country’s favourite TV chefs and presenters is something of a national institution. Best known for his numerous series’ of Ready Steady Cook, with eight primetime cooking series’ under his belt
About Ainsley Harriott
The Biography of Ainsley Harriott
There are only a handful of personalities whose enduring popularity places them in that rare category where they are instantly recognized simply by their first name. “Ainsley” can only mean Ainsley Harriott, who, after 17 years as one of the country’s favourite TV chefs and presenters is something of a national institution.
Best known for his numerous series’ of Ready Steady Cook, which continue to air on TV channels around the world, and with eight primetime cooking series’ under his belt, he has become the master of fresh, fun, accessible cuisine. Ainsley’s food reflects the needs of real life. It is diverse and delicious but easy to prepare and speedy to cook.
In the early 1990s, when Ainsley was Head Chef of the Long Room at Lord’s Cricket Ground the BBC Radio asked him to present More Nosh, Less Dosh for BBC Radio 5. A call from BBC Pebble Mill soon followed and Ainsley moved in to become resident chef on BBC TV’s Good Morning with Anne And Nick. This in turn led to Ready Steady Cook and his TV career took off. Ready Steady Cook started airing in 1994. Almost two thousand episodes later, it celebrated fifteen happy years in 2009.The new series’ (series’ 21) for 2009/10 begins recording in late summer 2009.
With such a large catalogue of cookery programmes, Ainsley is rarely off air. Many of his series’ are repeated on cable and satellite channels and also sell around the world. These cookery series’ include:-
Can’t Cook Won’t Cook, Ainsley’s Barbeque Bible, Ainsley’s Meals in Minutes, Ainsley’s Big Cook Out, Gourmet Express, 50 Things To Eat Before You Die.
Entertainment and factual programmes include City Hospital, The Hidden Camera Show and Party of a Life-time..
Ainsley has also made programmes directly for foreign markets. For the USA he has made two series’ of Ready Set Cook (for The Food Network) and over a hundred episodes of The Ainsley Harriott Show (for NBC). For South Africa he has made two series’ of Off the Menu.
Ainsley is also a No.1 best selling author, and has fourteen solo books to his name. He has sold more than two million books worldwide, with co-editions in Dutch, Danish, Slovenian, Romanian and American. In 2009 he published his latest book, Just Five Ingredients which is full of quick, practical and delicious family meals using only five ingredients.