A prodigious talent stalked by controversy, celebrity chef John
Burton-Race has always lived life on the edge, and remains nothing if
not pragmatic. "I wear people down. I'm a bit of a basket case."
Born in Singapore in 1957 to a British diplomat father, Burton-Race
helped the family chef while being exposed to global tastes and flavours
that still influence his style of cooking. He worked under renowned chef
Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons and when Blanc opened Le
Petit Blanc in Oxford, he turned to Burton-Race to head the kitchen.
Here the young, aspiring chef would win his first Michelin star. Three
years later he opened his own restaurant, L'Ortolan in Berkshire.
Awarded two Michelin stars, the achievement was repeated in 2000 at John
Burton-Race Restaurant at London's Landmark Hotel. Television viewers,
however, bore witness to his mercurial nature in the fly-on-the-wall
series French Leave and Return of the Chef, and an appearance on I'm A
Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here ended in disaster when his second wife
closed his Devon restaurant while he was in the Australian bush.
Possessed of an innate talent for self destruction, John Burton-Race is
still driven, still complex, still controversial, still living life at
100 miles an hour. This is his story.
