The lineup of fantastic chefs who will be appearing at this years festival is growing and so far includes.....
Sophie Grigson
Sophie is an English cookery writer and celebrity chef who has followed the same path and career as her mother, Jane Grigson, into food writing. Sophie was born in Swindon, Wiltshire in 1959. After graduating in 1982 with a B.Sc. in mathematics from UMIST University in Manchester (where she is currently Vice President of the Alumni Association), she worked for a time as a production manager of pop videos for groups including Bonnie Tyler and Style Council. Having inherited her mother's love of food, she found she also enjoyed writing about it. Her first food article, published in 1983 in the Sunday Express Magazine, was entitled "Fifty ways with potatoes". She has since written columns for the Evening Standard, The Independent, and The Sunday Times. Her television debut came in 1993 with a twelve-part series "Grow Your Greens, Eat Your Greens" on Channel 4. She also featured on the BBC Wales series Franco & Friends, celebrating the Walnut Tree Inn restaurant and the famous friends that frequented it. Sophie has written a number of best-selling books including:
- Gourmet Ingredients (1991, nominated for the James Beard Award, published by Van Nostrand Reinhold).
- Eat your greens (1993) Travels a La Carte (1994, written with William Black).
- Fish (1998, written with William Black).
- Sophie Grigson's Herbs (1999).
- Organic (2001, written with William Black).
- Sophie Grigson's Country Kitchen (2003).
- The First-time Cook (2004).
- Published in October 2006 is her latest book, Vegetables (Collins; ISBN 0-00-721377-8).
Sophie won the Guild of Food Writers Cookery Journalist Award 2001. She is a keen supporter of organic and local food suppliers and, like Jamie Oliver, is an advocate for decent children's food. A regular visitor to Wales, Sophie enjoys a strong following at food festivals and events.
back to menuAngela Gray
Cardiff-based Angela Gray is an old friend of the Narberth Food
Festival, having cooked and performed at the festival in previous years.
Angela has a great love of Pembrokeshire and is a regular visitor to the
county. She can be spotted on occasion coming out of one of Narberth's
independent food retailers, having popped in to pick up some goodies.
Angela is one of the leading lights on the food scene in Wales. Her
passion for food has led to her to travel extensively, from promoting
Welsh food at the international SIAL food show in Paris; to working as a
food writer, food consultant and chef to celebrity clients, including
Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Angela has presented two cookery series for BBC Wales. "Hot Stuff" and
"More Hot Stuff" took the viewing audience on a tour of Wales,
uncovering regional delicacies, cooking talent, and looking at the
variety of cooking styles found around the country. A book containing
all the recipes and anecdotes from the series followed, due to its
popularity. An additional series 'Overnight Success', saw Angela
offering advice on setting up and running your own guest house.
The BBC Wales radio series "My Life on a Plate" saw Angela interviewing
guests such as Kim Howells MP, Lowri Turner, Antonio Carluccio, Monty
Don, Stephen Bull and John Humphries about their lives and what their
favourite menu would consist of. Angela is a regular guest on the Jamie
Owen show, cooking up a feast of delicious dishes using local
ingredients.
Angela has been a live guest on UKTV Food, recently championing Wales in
the UKTV Food Heroes series with Gary Rhodes. She has also taken part in the 'Flavours of Britain' series with Paul Roseby.
Angela's second book 'The Welsh Cheese Book' is a celebration of the
wonderful cheeses now available from Wales. She regularly writes
food-related articles for local and national newspapers and magazines.
Angela also loves cooking in front of a live audience, and is a regular
at many a Show.
She is currently writing a third book and running her business 'Food In
Focus Ltd'. The company employs experts offering a range of specialised
services to the food and hospitality industries. These include; food
photography and styling (check out her portfolio at
www.foodinfocus.com/gallery), cookery presentations, restaurant
consultancy, as well as organising food events nationally and
internationally for the Welsh Assembly Government. Angela has worked
with many top names in the business including Paul Rankin, Brian Turner,
Antonio Carluccio, Anthony Worral Thompson, Leslie Waters and Jean
Christophe Novelli, to name but a few. Angela is the face of Welsh Food
on QVC presenting wonderful Welsh ingredients with live cooking and
serving suggestions.
Dudley Newbury
Since 1994 Dudley Newbery has been a staple on S4C, the Welsh TV Channel. To date, Dudley has presented and produced 12 series of his BAFTA award winning food and lifestyle show - 'Dudley', which has seen him filming in exotic locations such as Thailand, Jamaica and Italy. The show is the longest running cookery series in the UK and has run for the last 13 years consecutively.
Dudley is a very busy man.
He develops ready meals using welsh produce for Cig Calon Cymru based in Cross Hands.
He does many exhibitions around Wales demonstrating his cooking skills and recipes and he has a Christmas exhibition at Gelli Aur this coming December. He was also involved with the Cooking Bus, which appeared at the Urdd National Eisteddfod this year.
He has been a judge with Great Taste Awards in London and was on the panel of judges with Gwir Flas Cymru / True Taste Wales 2007/2008.