John French Donald (Bull) Acutt

Extract from Acutts in Africa by Yvonne Miller ne Gordon-Huntley

Born during WWI, he was named after the Allied Commander, General French, but he was always called Bull. He lived a varied and interesting life, travelled extensively and was 'a man of his hands' who built his own house, delighted in gardening and cabinet making.

During his military service in WWII he realised that his real forte was cooking and decided to become a chef. He thus repeated the pattern of an earlier John Acutt of Bidford, Devon, who served in the Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and later became a pastry chef.

Bull cooked for the late King George VI and the Queen Mother when they visited Rhodesia. He was invited to their private suite for a drink. When TV came to Rhodesia he was well known for his talks on cooking. He died after a erious illness while still a relatively young man. His eldest daughter Mrs. Avis Rochester, has given me a photograph of the wedding cake he made for her. It is magnificent five-tier cake surrounded by an ox-wagon in icing to symbolise her pioneer ancestry.