ABOUT OUR CHEF
In 1983 John became a Sous chef at ‘Les Manoir Aux Quat' Saisons’, Oxford from where he went on to become Head Chef and Manager of ‘Le Petit Blanc’, Oxford until 1986. He then opened his own restaurant ‘L'Ortolan’, Berkshire, where he achieved and maintained two Michelin stars. In 2000 he opened John Burton Race, Landmark Hotel, London and reclaimed both Michelin stars within the first year of trading.
In 2002 John and his family moved to France for a year to relearn and discover ingredients and his love of cooking after many years in the fast lane. Channel 4 screened the television series FRENCH LEAVE and John wrote the book that accompanied the series.
John moved back to Devon in 2003 and, teaming up with head chefs Nigel Marriage and Robin Zavou, opened ‘The New Angel’ in Dartmouth. A TV series about this whole adventure – RETURN OF THE CHEF – was screened by Channel 4, and his book COMING HOME, features recipes from the series. John took part in the BBC’s GREAT BRITISH MENU, a culinary challenge to find the best British dish and recently trained celebrities in the art of cooking for SOAPSTAR SUPERCHEF on ITV. He also filmed a new culinary series for ITV, BRITAIN’S BEST DISH.
John took part in I’M A CELEBRITY GET ME OUT OF HERE in 2007 and had a fantastic time. He recently filmed programmes for five’s COOKING THE BOOKS. John has also appeared as a guest on the BBC’s THROUGH THE KEYHOLE, and endured a grilling by Anne Robinson on BBC2’s THE WEAKEST LINK.
He is also a popular choice to host exhibitions, events and culinary workshops, and writes regular features and articles for various magazines.