James Martin

James Martin

(born 30 June 1972 in Malton, North Yorkshire), is an English cook who first appeared on television in 1996.

Television career

He first started to appear on television in 1996 with various programmes including "James Martin: Yorkshire's Finest" (set in various Yorkshire locations with an emphasis on Yorkshire cuisine) but came to wider public attention on the BBC 2 programme Ready Steady Cook. In 2005 Martin was partnered with Camilla Dallerup in Strictly Come Dancing, a celebrity ballroom dancing TV show, coming fourth.

Martin co-presented BBC Food's "Stately Suppers" with Alistair Appleton, and then appeared on the Channel 4 programme Richard & Judy, where he would visit a member of the public in their own home who had been nominated to be cooked a 'comfort food' meal. He is now the presenter of the new version of the BBC 1 show Saturday Kitchen, which is being made by Cactus TV, the company behind the "Richard & Judy" show.

In 2007 he starred in a BBC 2 series named Sweet Baby James (named in reference to the James Taylor song) in which he focused on desserts, puddings and cakes while visiting places from his culinary past that have inspired his recipes. Upcoming chef Will Torrent appeared as his assistant.

Martin appeared on Blue Peter in April 2007 on Can You Cook It? being a celebrity judge choosing the new Blue Peter "Junior Chef".[1]

In June and July 2007, he appeared co-hosting the 12 Yard series The Great British Village Show on BBC 1. He finished off the year with a series on UKTV Food called James Martin's Christmas Feasts.

He filmed a 30 part series for the BBC in 2007 called Eating with the Enemy which was held back for a year before finally being broadcast in July and August 2008.

James Martin holds the world record for carrot chopping in which he peeled and chopped 515g of carrots in one minute, during a Ready Steady Cook Children in Need Special.

Journalism

Martin writes a motoring column for UK newspaper The Mail on Sunday. In 2009, Martin wrote in his column that he deliberately drove an electric Tesla Roadster in a manner that startled two cyclists causing a “look of sheer terror as they tottered into the hedge”. Following criticism from cycling groups and professionals such as Bradley Wiggins and Stuart O'Grady, he apologized for the statements. Complaints said that the driving was illegal and dangerous.[2][3][4]

Product range

A Cuisina by James Martin hobIn 2008, Martin released the Cuisina by James Martin range of appliances that he personally helped to design.[5] The range was launched by Premium Appliance Brands[5] having been designed with the aid of Bigblue Product Design.

In 2003, Martin released the Stellar James Martin range of cookware that he designed and styled in collaboration with Stellar.

RestaurantJames Martin opened his restaurant, called "The Leeds Kitchen", inside the Alea Casino at Clarence Dock, Leeds on Saturday 9 April 2011.[6]

Personal life

At the age of ten years old Martin helped his father in the kitchen at Castle Howard, Malton, North Yorkshire, which started his interest in cuisine. His mother also worked at Castle Howard. Martin has a passion for performance cars[5] which led to him entering a vintage Maserati in the 2008 Mille Miglia.[7] This was televised on 28 December 2008. He failed to complete the race.

References

1.^ "Can you cook it?". The BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/newtalent/under_16/canyoucookit/. Retrieved 2009-11-18. 2.^ "Martin sorry over cycling article". BBC News Online. 16 Sep 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8258247.stm. 3.^ http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/tv-chef-james-martin-cooks-up... 4.^ Martin, James (2009-09-12). "The Tesla Roadster is the all-electric supercar that's as fast as a Ferrari". London: Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1211917/JAMES-MARTI.... (The Daily Mail website does not show the text in question.) 5.^ a b c KBBNews - News feature 6.^ The Leeds Kitchen 7.^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00g82ff

External links

James Martin News-Sheet

James Martin recipes

The Leeds Kitchen