Antony Worrall Thompson

Early life

Worrall Thompson was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. His parents were actor Michael Ingham and actress Joanna Duncan, who separated when he was three. He was educated at the King's School, Canterbury, where he sustained facial injuries while playing rugby. He had to wait until he was twenty-one before he could have plastic surgery to correct the disfigurement.

Early career

After he left school he studied hotel management at Westminster Kingsway College. Taking his first catering job in Essex, it is rumoured that his grandmother refused to write to him because she couldn't bring herself to write Essex on the envelope. In 1978, he moved to London and became sous-chef at Brinkley's Restaurant in the Fulham Road, becoming head chef one year later. The following year he took a sabbatical in France, eating and working his way around the local cuisine. After this he returned to Britain and started producing pans with his business partner Hassan.

Restaurants

Prior to opening his first restaurant, Worrall Thompson was Executive Chef at 190 Queens Gate in South Kensington, London. Worrall Thompson opened his first restaurant – Menage a Trois – in Knightsbridge in 1981, notable for only serving starters and puddings. He then launched several successful restaurants, including Wiz and Woz in West London and Metro in Jersey – all of which reflect his somewhat individual approach to food. Until late 2006, he was Catering Director for Old Luxters Barn, in Buckinghamshire.

In February 2009, his restaurant holding company AWT Restaurants was placed into administration. Four restaurants closed – the Notting Grill in west London, the Barnes Grill in south-west London, together with two pubs in Henley-on-Thames, the Lamb Inn and the Greyhound with the loss of 60 jobs, Worrall Thompson personally bought back the remaining Windsor Grill in Berkshire, the Kew Grill in south-west London, and delicatessen the Windsor Larder.

It was revealed in April 2009 that Thompson's restaurant chain trouble was the result of its being "overstretched" and that his restaurants "had debts of more than £800,000 and owed 214 creditors money.

Television

Thompson made his first television appearance on BBC2's Food and Drink, before appearing on Ready Steady Cook from 1994. In 2003, he appeared in the second series of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, which led to him replacing Gregg Wallace as the host of BBC2's Saturday Kitchen. The show moved to BBC1 to replace Saturday morning children's television, and then to ITV from June 2006 to May 2010 as Saturday Cooks. He represented the Midlands and East of England in series one of the BBC's Great British Menu but was beaten by Galton Blackiston, after burning the meat course of his entry prior to the judging phase.

Awards and honours

Worrall Thompson has won the Mouton Rothschild Menu Competition, and the Meilleur Ouvrier de Grande Bretagne (MOGB).

Personal life

Worrall Thompson married Jill when he was 22; the couple divorced five years later. He subsequently married an Australian, Militza. The couple had two children and divorced. He is currently married to his third wife Jacinta Shiel. The couple live in High Wycombe and have two children. He has a child from a brief liaison.

In January 2012, Worrall Thompson received a formal police caution for shoplifting low value items, including wine and cheese from the Henley-on-Thames branch of Tesco on a total of five occasions.

Worrall Thompson is a patron of FOREST, a UK-based, tobacco industry financed, pro-smoking lobby. He claimed to have given up smoking in February 2010, in a feature for Radio 4's Woman's Hour. He is also involved in fundraising for the Conservative Party and supports British withdrawal from the European Union. In 2003, Worrall Thompson funded the Antony Worrall Thompson Trophy – a charity football cup played by 8 semi-professional teams in the summer, pre-season. However, due to Worrall Thompson's financial issues, the trophy lasted only one year and was never replayed after Altrincham F.C.'s 2003–2004 victory over Northwich Victoria F.C.. Altrincham won the game 4–3. October 2010 saw Thompson join Uncovered as a regular columnist offering recipes and advice on eating for good health and seasons finest produce.