Philip Vickery is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 celebrity chef

Celebrity chef

A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become famous and well known. Today celebrity chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations via mass media, especially television. Historically, celebrity chefs have included Antoine Carême and Martino da Como.-External...

.

Biography

Vickery followed Gary Rhodes

Gary Rhodes

Gary Rhodes OBE is an English restaurateur, cookery writer, and chef, known for his love of British cuisine and distinctive spiked hair style ....

 as Head Chef

Chef

A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...

 of the Castle Hotel, Taunton

Castle Hotel, Taunton

The Castle Hotel at Taunton is a hotel and restaurant located in the centre of Taunton, Somerset, England. The business is located in a Grade II listed 18th century reconstruction of the former 12th century Norman fortress, Taunton Castle.-Building:...

, which at the time held a Michelin Star. It lost its Michelin status under Vickery, but retained its 4 AA rosettes, while he gained the AA Chef of the Year. Vickery regained the Michelin star, re-awarded for four consecutive years from 1994-1997. Vickery has written ten books. The first, "Just Food", was published by Headline in 1999.

He currently appears on the television programmes Ready Steady Cook

Ready Steady Cook

Ready Steady Cook was a BBC daytime TV cooking programme it first debuted on 24 October 1994 and the last edition was broadcast on the 2 February 2010. The programme was hosted by Fern Britton from 1994 until 2000 when celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott became the new host...

and This Morning

This Morning (TV series)

This Morning is a British daytime television programme broadcast on ITV. As of September 2011, its main presenters are Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, and Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes, with various other presenters standing in for illness or contributing to sections of the programme.The...

.

In September 2008, Vickery began advertising food products and promoting special offers for supermarket chain Aldi

ALDI

ALDI Einkauf GmbH & Co. oHG, doing business as ', short for "Albrecht Discount", is a discount supermarket chain based in Germany...

, after signing a two year deal with the chain. He is also the current spokesperson for Unilever

Unilever

Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....

's Stork

Stork (margarine)

Stork is a brand of margarine spread, owned by Unilever.Introduced into the United Kingdom and Ireland from 1920, housewives were initially suspicious of the health affects and cooking ability of margarine...

 brand margarine

Margarine

Margarine , as a generic term, can indicate any of a wide range of butter substitutes, typically composed of vegetable oils. In many parts of the world, the market share of margarine and spreads has overtaken that of butter...

. He was appointed Food Ambassador in March 2010 by Coeliac UK

Coeliac disease

Coeliac disease , is an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine that occurs in genetically predisposed people of all ages from middle infancy onward...

.

Family

Parents Teresa Vickery and father Robert Vickery initially brought him and his brothers up in Folkestone which is where they were all born. They later moved to Densole in Hawkinge near Folkestone. He has two brothers: Michael (a Blacksmith

Blacksmith

A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...

) and Christopher (a doctor working in Cambodia

Cambodia

Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...

) Phil being the middle brother, with Christopher the oldest and Michael the youngest. He is married to Fern Britton

Fern Britton

Fern Britton is an English television presenter, known as the former main co-presenter on the ITV magazine programme This Morning alongside Phillip Schofield. She left the show on 17 July 2009, her 52nd birthday.- Early life :...

, has one daughter Winifred (2001) and is stepfather to Fern's three children from her first marriage. He also has two aunts on his mother's side Honora Clayson and Josaphine Ball plus uncle Colin Clayson.

Books

• Seriously good! Gluten-free Baking:(2010)
• Phil Vickery's Puddings (2009)
• Seriously Good Gluten Free Cooking (2009)
• The Little Book of Great British Turkey Recipes (2008)
• Britain: The Cookbook (with Lee Steve) (2007)
• Ready Steady Cook: The Ten-minute Cookbook(with Ross Burden, Gino D'Acampo, James Martin, and Nick Nairn (2006)
• A Passion for Puddings (2006)
• The Complete Gammon Cookbook (2006)
• Proof of the Pudding (2003)
• Phil & Ferns Family Food (2002)
• Just Food (1999)