Prue Leith
Encyclopedia
Prudence Margaret Leith, CBE
(born 18 February 1940) is a restaurateur
, caterer, TV cook, broadcaster
and cookery writer. She was born in South Africa
, with her working life spent mostly in London
, England
.
In 1960, Prue Leith started a business supplying quality business lunches, which grew to become Leith’s Good Food,the party and event caterer.In 1969, she opened Leith’s, her famous Michelin starred
restaurant. In 1975 she founded Leiths School of Food and Wine which trains amateur and professional chef
s. The Leith's group reached a turnover of £15m in 1993, when she sold all but the restaurant which she sold two years later. She has been a cookery editor and food columnist for the Daily Mail
, Sunday Express, The Guardian
and The Mirror. She is a former director of British Rail, Safeway,Whitbread, Woolworths and the Halifax bank and is currently a non-executive director of Orient Express Hotels Ltd. She has had an active career in charity and not-for-profiy businesses,helping to found The British Food Trust which promotes good food. Focus on Food which teaches schoolchildren to cook. The Hoxton Apprentice which trains long term unemployed people to be waiters and chefs, 3Es Enterprises,which turns around failiong state schools. She is currently a trustee of Slow Food U.K.,which promotes good,fair,clean food under the international Slow Food movement. She is former Chair of the Board of Governors of Ashridge
Management College, the Restaurants Association of Great Britain, the R.S.A. (Royal Society of Arts) and U.K. Skills. As well as many cookery books, including Leith's Cookery Bible, she has written five novels, Leaving Patrick, Sisters, A Lovesome Thing, (all published by Penguin Books
). "Choral Society and "A Serving of Scandal" (published by Quercus).
From November 2006 to January 2010 Prue Leith was chair of the School Food Trust
, the British government's campaign to replace foods high in salt,sugar and fat with freshly cooked, healthy food, a job she described as the most important of her long career.
Leith has received many honours, including the Veuve Cliquot Business Woman of the Year in 1990, and eleven honorary degrees or fellowships from UK universities. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1989 and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours.
Leith is a judge on the BBC
television programme Great British Menu
and has been since the series inception in 2006.
Her brother, ex-restaurateur James Leith
, is married to Penny Junor
and the couple's son, Prue's nephew, is the journalist Sam Leith
.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 18 February 1940) is a restaurateur
Restaurateur
A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of the restaurant business.-Etymology:The word...
, caterer, TV cook, broadcaster
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
and cookery writer. She was born in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, with her working life spent mostly in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
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...
.
In 1960, Prue Leith started a business supplying quality business lunches, which grew to become Leith’s Good Food,the party and event caterer.In 1969, she opened Leith’s, her famous Michelin starred
Michelin Guide
The Michelin Guide is a series of annual guide books published by Michelin for over a dozen countries. The term normally refers to the Michelin Red Guide, the oldest and best-known European hotel and restaurant guide, which awards the Michelin stars...
restaurant. In 1975 she founded Leiths School of Food and Wine which trains amateur and professional 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 ...
s. The Leith's group reached a turnover of £15m in 1993, when she sold all but the restaurant which she sold two years later. She has been a cookery editor and food columnist for the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
, Sunday Express, The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
and The Mirror. She is a former director of British Rail, Safeway,Whitbread, Woolworths and the Halifax bank and is currently a non-executive director of Orient Express Hotels Ltd. She has had an active career in charity and not-for-profiy businesses,helping to found The British Food Trust which promotes good food. Focus on Food which teaches schoolchildren to cook. The Hoxton Apprentice which trains long term unemployed people to be waiters and chefs, 3Es Enterprises,which turns around failiong state schools. She is currently a trustee of Slow Food U.K.,which promotes good,fair,clean food under the international Slow Food movement. She is former Chair of the Board of Governors of Ashridge
Ashridge
Ashridge is an estate and house in Hertfordshire, England; part of the land stretches into Buckinghamshire and it is close to the Bedfordshire border. It is situated in the Chiltern Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, about two miles north of Berkhamsted and twenty miles north west of...
Management College, the Restaurants Association of Great Britain, the R.S.A. (Royal Society of Arts) and U.K. Skills. As well as many cookery books, including Leith's Cookery Bible, she has written five novels, Leaving Patrick, Sisters, A Lovesome Thing, (all published by Penguin Books
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
). "Choral Society and "A Serving of Scandal" (published by Quercus).
From November 2006 to January 2010 Prue Leith was chair of the School Food Trust
School Food Trust
The School Food Trust is a UK Charity and specialist advisor to government on school meals, children’s food and related skills.-History:The trust was created in 2005 by the Department for Education and Skills , following celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's critique of the nutritional quality of school...
, the British government's campaign to replace foods high in salt,sugar and fat with freshly cooked, healthy food, a job she described as the most important of her long career.
Leith has received many honours, including the Veuve Cliquot Business Woman of the Year in 1990, and eleven honorary degrees or fellowships from UK universities. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1989 and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours.
Leith is a judge on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television programme Great British Menu
Great British Menu
Great British Menu is a BBC television series in which top British chefs compete for the chance to cook one course of a four course banquet. The first series banquet was for the Queen on her 80th birthday. The second series was to cook for the British Ambassador to France at the British Embassy...
and has been since the series inception in 2006.
Family
Prue has two children, a son and a daughter. Her adopted Cambodian daughter Li-Da Kruger is a film maker and her son, Danny Kruger, left his job as speechwriter and advisor to David Cameron to start an arts charity, working with prisoners and ex-offenders, with his wife Emma.Her brother, ex-restaurateur James Leith
James Leith
Major James Leith VC was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Life:...
, is married to Penny Junor
Penny Junor
Penny Junor is an English journalist and author.-Education:Junor was educated at the independent Benenden School in Kent and read History at St Andrew's University, but left in her second year to get married....
and the couple's son, Prue's nephew, is the journalist Sam Leith
Sam Leith
Sam Leith is a British writer, journalist and columnist.After an education at Eton and Magdalen College, Oxford, Leith worked at revived satirical magazine Punch, before moving to the Daily Mail and The Daily Telegraph, where he served as literary editor until 2008...
.