Marco Pierre White
Encyclopedia
Marco Pierre White is a British celebrity chef
, restaurateur
and television personality
. He is noted for his contributions to contemporary international cuisine, and his exceptional culinary skills.
White has been dubbed the first celebrity chef, the enfant terrible of the UK restaurant scene and the Godfather of modern cooking. White was, at the time, the youngest chef ever to have been awarded three Michelin stars. He has trained chefs such as Gordon Ramsay
.
mother Maria-Rosa Gallina, who had come to Britain to learn English, and chef Frank White, who had struck up a conversation with Maria at the Griffin Hotel in Leeds
while he was playing cards.
After marrying in 1954, they lived in a council house
in East Leeds, and had sons Graham (1955), Clive (1957) (also a chef) and Marco. Six years later, Maria gave birth to a fourth son, Craig Simon. Two days afterwards, she collapsed and was taken back to St James's University Hospital, Leeds
, where she died of a brain haemorrhage
at the age of 38.
After leaving Allerton High School
in Leeds without any qualifications, White decided to train as a chef. He began his training in the kitchen at the Hotel St George in Harrogate
, North Yorkshire and later at the Box Tree in Ilkley
, West Yorkshire. Arriving in London as a 16-year-old with "£7.36, a box of books and a bag of clothes", he began his classical training as a commis under Albert Roux
and Michel Roux
at Le Gavroche
, a period that would lead Albert to describe him as "my little bunny". He continued his training under Pierre Koffman
at La Tante Claire
(now the site of Restaurant Gordon Ramsay
), moving to work in the kitchen of Raymond Blanc
at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons and Nico Ladenis of Chez Nico at Ninety Park Lane. He then branched out on his own, working in the kitchen at the Six Bells public house in the Kings Road
with assistant Mario Batali
.
, London (now the site of Chez Bruce
), where he won his first Michelin star almost immediately and was awarded his second in 1988, before moving on to become chef-patron of The Restaurant Marco Pierre White in the dining room at the former Hyde Park Hotel, now Mandarin Oriental (where he won the third Michelin star), and then moved to the Oak Room at Le Meridien Piccadilly.
By the age of 33, Marco Pierre White had become the youngest chef to be awarded three Michelin stars in England.
During these years White had working for him Gordon Ramsay, Eric Chavot
(The Capital), Heston Blumenthal
(The Fat Duck), Bryn Williams
(Odette's), Matt Tebbutt
(The Foxhunter), James Detalier-Stocks, Donovan Cooke (Est est est) and in front of house Max (Mark) Palmer, one of the few English Maître d' of a Michelin 3-star, Claude Douart, Philippe Messy (youngest sommelier
to gain 3 Michelin stars) and Chris Jones, unusual in being an English sommelier in a 2-star Michelin French restaurant at the age of 21.
Although White worked for 17 years to pursue his ambition, he ultimately found that, in spite of his accomplishments, recognition and fame, his career did not provide him with adequate returns in his personal life. So in 1999, he retired and returned his Michelin stars.
During his early career in the kitchen, White regularly ejected patrons from his restaurants if he took offence at their comments.
When a customer asked if he could have a side order of chips with his lunch, White hand-cut and personally cooked the chips but charged the customer £25 for his time. A young chef at Harveys, who once complained of heat in the kitchen, had the back of his chef's jacket and trousers cut open by White wielding a sharp paring knife.
Marco is seen in adverts for Knorr
, stock cubes and stock pots, a Unilever
brand, in the UK.
White also has a stake in The Yew Tree Inn, a 17th-century dining pub near Highclere in North Hampshire. This was the setting for much of "Marco's Great British Feast," screened on ITV
in summer 2008. In January 2009 it was reported that White was to charge £5 for a pint of real ale at the venue, making the Yew Tree "one of the most expensive places to drink British real ale in the country". White was quoted saying "Most pubs undercharge. You're not just paying for beer, you're paying for the place you drink it in and the people who serve it."
White is also dining consultant to cruise line P&O Cruises
. A fine-dining Mediterranean restaurant called The White Room on board the cruise ship Ventura was launched in April 2008.
In February 2009 White opened the MPW Steak & Alehouse with James Robertson in the Square Mile in London. As co-owners they also operate the Kings Road Steakhouse & Grill in Chelsea (from 2010). Robertson had worked for White from 1999 - 2003 as a Maitre'D before leaving the group although the pair remained close friends.
In January 2010 he franchised a restaurant called "Marco Pierre White's the Swan Inn" in Aughton, which serves a selection of classic pub foods.
White has published several books, including an influential cookbook White Heat
, an autobiography called White Slave (entitled The Devil in the Kitchen in North America and in the paperback version), and Wild Food from Land and Sea.
White appeared in trailers for the 2004 film Layer Cake
.
In March 2010, White signed to promote the Bernard Matthews Farms brand of processed turkey products. In July 2011, White's range of Bernard Matthews ready meals were dropped amid poor sales, but he remained brand ambassador for Bernard Matthews Farms.
television series. Asked in April 2007 whether he would be following in the manner of the show's previous incumbent, Gordon Ramsay
, White said, "Gordon did it his way; I'll do it my way. We all have different ways of expressing ourselves. I want my emphasis to be on the food and the kitchens rather than the swearing."
White also commented, "I might be the hardest person they'll have ever met but I've got a heart just as big. It's about picking people up off the floor and inspiring them to want to carry on 'til the end."
However, his publicity for Hell's Kitchen did not go as smoothly as planned during an interview for Radio Times
"One Final Question" feature. White took offence at one of the questions put by journalist Jenny Eden and abruptly ended the conversation. The next day, Eden received a copy of White's autobiography, The Devil in the Kitchen, with a note of apology inscribed inside the cover.
At one point during the series, controversy ensued when White said, "I don't think it was a pikey's
picnic tonight." The remark prompted criticism from the Commission for Racial Equality
. However, the show was defended by an ITV spokesperson, who indicated that warnings about its content were given before transmission, and that White's comment had been challenged by one of the contestants, Lee Ryan
.
The book accompanying the show, Marco Pierre White in Hell's Kitchen, was published on 23 August 2007 by Ebury Press.
White returned to ITV
's screens to present the 4th series of Hell's Kitchen
in 2009.
The Chopping Block On 18 March 2008, it was announced that White would be the host of an American version
of the Australian cooking competition series The Chopping Block
. The series, produced by Granada America, the production company behind the American version of Hell's Kitchen, aired on NBC
in March 2009 but was pulled after three episodes due to low ratings. After a three-month hiatus, 'Chopping Block' returned to complete its season.
Celebrity Big Brother 2011 On 27 August 2011, White was a houseguest on the UK version of Celebrity Big Brother to set a cooking task.
, and who worked at his local fishmonger. After a year-long romance, they were married at Chelsea
Register Office
on 8 June 1988; neither family attended the ceremony.
White then met 21-year-old model Lisa Butcher
at a London nightclub. They were engaged within three weeks. White says today that he was so intoxicated by her looks that he forgot to think about her personality. Engaged for two months, Butcher sold the wedding in a £20,000 deal to Hello!
magazine. The wedding took place at the Brompton Oratory on 15 August 1992, where Albert Roux
was best man, and Lisa had forgotten to invite his father and brothers. White says he knew the marriage was a mistake when he saw her £3,000 floor-length, backless
Bruce Oldfield
dress with cutaway sides. White told a reporter that she looked dressed to go down the catwalk rather than the aisle. Butcher says of their 15-week marriage: "We went to the Scilly Isles for our honeymoon. On the first day Marco turned to me and said, 'I don't love you.' We spent two miserable days when we didn't speak and he went shark fishing. Then I left." In her one interview about the marriage, Butcher has hinted that something unspeakable happened on the honeymoon: "Something very bad did happen but I'm not going to say what it was. It really wasn't a very pleasant experience for me and my family."
In 1992, White started a relationship with Matilde "Mati" Conejero, the bartender at The Canteen. and went on to have two sons: Luciano (born December 1992), Marco Jr., and a daughter, Mirabelle, born after White retired and the couple had married at the Belvedere on 7 April 2000. At the wedding, Gordon Ramsay
turned up with a TV crew having told neither White nor his bride. White and Ramsay have not spoken since. After White became friends with city financier Robin Saunders, Mati wrongly suspected an affair between the two. White and his wife had a fight, after which White spent 14 hours in the cells of Notting Hill
police station in January 2005. White and Mati began divorce proceedings in 2007 after she confronted two of his waitresses over affairs and his close relationship with singer/actress Martine McCutcheon
.
White has a Japanese assistant called Mr Ishii, who chauffeurs him everywhere, as White does not have a driving licence. White originally met Mr Ishii while he managed the Mirabelle restaurant in Curzon St, Mayfair. The restaurant became available for sale and was quite sought-after, but his relationship with Mr Ishii persuaded the Japanese owners to sell to Marco. In his leisure time, White can be found freshwater fishing and game hunting.
White is a supporter of the Conservative Party
.
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...
, restaurateur
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
and television personality
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
. He is noted for his contributions to contemporary international cuisine, and his exceptional culinary skills.
White has been dubbed the first celebrity chef, the enfant terrible of the UK restaurant scene and the Godfather of modern cooking. White was, at the time, the youngest chef ever to have been awarded three Michelin stars. He has trained chefs such as Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay
Gordon James Ramsay, OBE is a Scottish chef, television personality and restaurateur. He has been awarded 13 Michelin stars....
.
Early life
Marco Pierre White was the third of four boys born to ItalianItalian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
mother Maria-Rosa Gallina, who had come to Britain to learn English, and chef Frank White, who had struck up a conversation with Maria at the Griffin Hotel in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
while he was playing cards.
After marrying in 1954, they lived in a council house
Council house
A council house, otherwise known as a local authority house, is a form of public or social housing. The term is used primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Council houses were built and operated by local councils to supply uncrowded, well-built homes on secure tenancies at...
in East Leeds, and had sons Graham (1955), Clive (1957) (also a chef) and Marco. Six years later, Maria gave birth to a fourth son, Craig Simon. Two days afterwards, she collapsed and was taken back to St James's University Hospital, Leeds
St James's University Hospital, Leeds
St. James's University Hospital in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, popularly known as Jimmy's, is one of the United Kingdom's most famous hospitals...
, where she died of a brain haemorrhage
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
at the age of 38.
After leaving Allerton High School
Allerton High School
Allerton High School Business and Enterprise is an 11-19 comprehensive in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England specialising in Business and Enterprise.-Admissions:...
in Leeds without any qualifications, White decided to train as a chef. He began his training in the kitchen at the Hotel St George in Harrogate
Harrogate
Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th...
, North Yorkshire and later at the Box Tree in Ilkley
Ilkley
Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in West Yorkshire, in the north of England. Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the metropolitan borough of Bradford. Approximately north of Bradford, the town lies mainly on the south bank of the River Wharfe...
, West Yorkshire. Arriving in London as a 16-year-old with "£7.36, a box of books and a bag of clothes", he began his classical training as a commis under Albert Roux
Albert Roux
Albert Roux OBE is a French-born restaurateur and chef working in Britain. He and his brother Michel operated Le Gavroche, the first restaurant in the UK to gain three Michelin stars. He helped train a series of chefs that went on to win Michelin stars, and his son, Michel Roux, Jr...
and Michel Roux
Michel Roux
Michel Roux is a French-born chef and restaurateur working in Britain.Born in Charolles, Saône-et-Loire, Roux moved to Paris with his family after the war, where they set up a charcuterie...
at Le Gavroche
Le Gavroche
Le Gavroche is a restaurant on 43 Upper Brook Street in Mayfair . It was opened in 1967 by Michel and Albert Roux although the original premises were on 61 Lower Sloane Street until 1981....
, a period that would lead Albert to describe him as "my little bunny". He continued his training under Pierre Koffman
Pierre Koffman
Pierre Koffmann is a French-born professional chef who has worked mainly in the United Kingdom. He was one of a handful of chefs in the United Kingdom to have been awarded the coveted three Michelin stars at his restaurant La Tante Claire in London...
at La Tante Claire
La Tante Claire
La Tante Claire was a restaurant in London which opened in 1977 and closed in 2004. Owned and operated by Pierre Koffmann, it gained three Michelin stars in 1983, and held all three until the restaurant moved premises in 1998.-Description:...
(now the site of Restaurant Gordon Ramsay
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, also known as Gordon Ramsay at Royal Hospital Road, is a three Michelin star restaurant owned and operated by Gordon Ramsay, located at Royal Hospital Road, London. It opened in 1998 and was Ramsay's first solo restaurant, in 2001 it made Gordon Ramsay the first Scottish...
), moving to work in the kitchen of Raymond Blanc
Raymond Blanc
Raymond Blanc OBE is a French chef, born in Besançon, France. Today he is one of the Britain's most respected chefs. Blanc is the owner and chef at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, a hotel-restaurant in Great Milton, Oxfordshire, England. The restaurant has two Michelin stars and scored 9/10 in the...
at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons and Nico Ladenis of Chez Nico at Ninety Park Lane. He then branched out on his own, working in the kitchen at the Six Bells public house in the Kings Road
Kings Road
King's Road or Kings Road, known popularly as The King's Road or The KR, is a major, well-known street stretching through Chelsea and Fulham, both in west London, England...
with assistant Mario Batali
Mario Batali
Mario Batali is an American chef, writer, restaurateur and media personality. In addition to his classical culinary training, he is an expert on the history and culture of Italian cuisine, including regional and local variations. Batali co-owns restaurants in New York City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles,...
.
Career
On completion of his training in 1987, White opened Harveys in Wandsworth CommonWandsworth Common
Wandsworth common is a public common in Wandsworth, south London. It is close to Clapham Common and Wandsworth Common railway station. It is wholly in the London borough of Wandsworth...
, London (now the site of Chez Bruce
Chez Bruce
Chez Bruce is a restaurant located at 2 Bellevue Road in Wandsworth, London, England. The restaurant was opened in February, 1995 by Bruce Poole and his business partner Nigel Platts-Martin....
), where he won his first Michelin star almost immediately and was awarded his second in 1988, before moving on to become chef-patron of The Restaurant Marco Pierre White in the dining room at the former Hyde Park Hotel, now Mandarin Oriental (where he won the third Michelin star), and then moved to the Oak Room at Le Meridien Piccadilly.
By the age of 33, Marco Pierre White had become the youngest chef to be awarded three Michelin stars in England.
During these years White had working for him Gordon Ramsay, Eric Chavot
Eric Chavot
Eric Chavot is a French Michelin starred chef. He is currently working as a consultant.Born in Arcachon, Chavot trained in France before moving to London to continue his culinary pursuits...
(The Capital), Heston Blumenthal
Heston Blumenthal
Heston Marc Blumenthal OBE is an English chef and owner of The Fat Duck, a three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Bray, Berkshire voted Best Restaurant in the UK by The Good Food Guide 2007 and 2009, and voted best restaurant in the world by Restaurant magazine in 2005...
(The Fat Duck), Bryn Williams
Bryn Williams
Bryn Dwyfor Williams is a chef originally from Dinbych , North Wales. He is the head chef and sole proprietor of Odette's Restaurant, Primrose Hill, London...
(Odette's), Matt Tebbutt
Matt Tebbutt
Matt Tebbutt is a chef based in Wales, UK and is a well known food TV presenter. Born in High Wycombe in 1973, Matt Tebbutt moved to South Wales at the age of six months and so considers himself an honorary Welshman...
(The Foxhunter), James Detalier-Stocks, Donovan Cooke (Est est est) and in front of house Max (Mark) Palmer, one of the few English Maître d' of a Michelin 3-star, Claude Douart, Philippe Messy (youngest sommelier
Sommelier
A sommelier , or wine steward, is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, commonly working in fine restaurants, who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food matching...
to gain 3 Michelin stars) and Chris Jones, unusual in being an English sommelier in a 2-star Michelin French restaurant at the age of 21.
Although White worked for 17 years to pursue his ambition, he ultimately found that, in spite of his accomplishments, recognition and fame, his career did not provide him with adequate returns in his personal life. So in 1999, he retired and returned his Michelin stars.
During his early career in the kitchen, White regularly ejected patrons from his restaurants if he took offence at their comments.
When a customer asked if he could have a side order of chips with his lunch, White hand-cut and personally cooked the chips but charged the customer £25 for his time. A young chef at Harveys, who once complained of heat in the kitchen, had the back of his chef's jacket and trousers cut open by White wielding a sharp paring knife.
Marco is seen in adverts for Knorr
Knorr
Knorr is a German food and beverage brand owned by the Anglo-Dutch company Unilever since 2000, when Unilever acquired Best Foods. It produces dehydrated soup mixes and condiments. The only country where Unilever did not have rights to the Knorr name is Japan, where trademark of the product there...
, stock cubes and stock pots, a 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....
brand, in the UK.
Retirement
White announced his retirement from the kitchen in 1999 and cooked his final meal for a paying customer on 23 December at the Oak Room. After his retirement he became a restaurateur. Together with Jimmy Lahoud he set up White Star Line Ltd, which currently owns the Belvedere and L'Escargot restaurants in London.White also has a stake in The Yew Tree Inn, a 17th-century dining pub near Highclere in North Hampshire. This was the setting for much of "Marco's Great British Feast," screened on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
in summer 2008. In January 2009 it was reported that White was to charge £5 for a pint of real ale at the venue, making the Yew Tree "one of the most expensive places to drink British real ale in the country". White was quoted saying "Most pubs undercharge. You're not just paying for beer, you're paying for the place you drink it in and the people who serve it."
White is also dining consultant to cruise line P&O Cruises
P&O Cruises
P&O Cruises is a British-American owned cruise line based at Carnival House in Southampton, England, and operated by Carnival UK. Originally a constituent of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company, P&O Cruises is the oldest cruise line in the world, having operated the world's first...
. A fine-dining Mediterranean restaurant called The White Room on board the cruise ship Ventura was launched in April 2008.
In February 2009 White opened the MPW Steak & Alehouse with James Robertson in the Square Mile in London. As co-owners they also operate the Kings Road Steakhouse & Grill in Chelsea (from 2010). Robertson had worked for White from 1999 - 2003 as a Maitre'D before leaving the group although the pair remained close friends.
In January 2010 he franchised a restaurant called "Marco Pierre White's the Swan Inn" in Aughton, which serves a selection of classic pub foods.
White has published several books, including an influential cookbook White Heat
White Heat (book)
White Heat is an influential cookbook by chef Marco Pierre White....
, an autobiography called White Slave (entitled The Devil in the Kitchen in North America and in the paperback version), and Wild Food from Land and Sea.
White appeared in trailers for the 2004 film Layer Cake
Layer Cake (film)
Layer Cake is a 2004 British crime thriller produced and directed by Matthew Vaughn, in his directorial debut. It is based on the novel Layer Cake by J. J...
.
In March 2010, White signed to promote the Bernard Matthews Farms brand of processed turkey products. In July 2011, White's range of Bernard Matthews ready meals were dropped amid poor sales, but he remained brand ambassador for Bernard Matthews Farms.
Hell's Kitchen
In September 2007, White was the Head Chef in ITV's Hell's KitchenHell's Kitchen (UK TV series)
Hell's Kitchen was a British cookery reality show aired on ITV which featured prospective chefs competing with each other for a final prize. Four series had been aired since 2004, three presented by Angus Deayton and the latest by Claudia Winkleman....
television series. Asked in April 2007 whether he would be following in the manner of the show's previous incumbent, Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay
Gordon James Ramsay, OBE is a Scottish chef, television personality and restaurateur. He has been awarded 13 Michelin stars....
, White said, "Gordon did it his way; I'll do it my way. We all have different ways of expressing ourselves. I want my emphasis to be on the food and the kitchens rather than the swearing."
White also commented, "I might be the hardest person they'll have ever met but I've got a heart just as big. It's about picking people up off the floor and inspiring them to want to carry on 'til the end."
However, his publicity for Hell's Kitchen did not go as smoothly as planned during an interview for Radio Times
Radio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
"One Final Question" feature. White took offence at one of the questions put by journalist Jenny Eden and abruptly ended the conversation. The next day, Eden received a copy of White's autobiography, The Devil in the Kitchen, with a note of apology inscribed inside the cover.
At one point during the series, controversy ensued when White said, "I don't think it was a pikey's
Pikey
Pikey is a pejorative slang term used mainly in the United Kingdom to refer to Irish Travellers, gypsies or people of low social class. Pikey is also sometimes called a piker in the United States, but a piker in Australia and New Zealand means someone who refuses to do something within a...
picnic tonight." The remark prompted criticism from the Commission for Racial Equality
Commission for Racial Equality
The Commission for Racial Equality was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom which aimed to tackle racial discrimination and promote racial equality. Its work has been merged into the new Equality and Human Rights Commission.-History:...
. However, the show was defended by an ITV spokesperson, who indicated that warnings about its content were given before transmission, and that White's comment had been challenged by one of the contestants, Lee Ryan
Lee Ryan
Lee Ryan is an English singer-songwriter, actor and member of the British boy band Blue.-Early life:...
.
The book accompanying the show, Marco Pierre White in Hell's Kitchen, was published on 23 August 2007 by Ebury Press.
White returned to ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's screens to present the 4th series of Hell's Kitchen
Hell's Kitchen (UK series 4)
Series four of the UK version of Hell's Kitchen began on 13 April 2009 and finished on 27 April 2009.-Presenter:Angus Deayton has not returned to present the show. The reason given for Deayton's dismissal was because he was involved in a series of disputes with head chef Marco Pierre White...
in 2009.
The Chopping Block On 18 March 2008, it was announced that White would be the host of an American version
The Chopping Block (U.S. TV series)
The Chopping Block is an American reality television series, based on the Australian reality television series of the same name. The series aired on the NBC network and followed participants in an attempt to open a restaurant. It is hosted by British celebrity chef Marco Pierre White.The first...
of the Australian cooking competition series The Chopping Block
The Chopping Block
The Chopping Block is an Australian reality television series which began airing on the Nine Network on 6 February 2008. Produced by Granada Productions, it was hosted by chef Matt Moran. Catriona Rowntree co-hosted the show with Moran in its first season...
. The series, produced by Granada America, the production company behind the American version of Hell's Kitchen, aired on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
in March 2009 but was pulled after three episodes due to low ratings. After a three-month hiatus, 'Chopping Block' returned to complete its season.
Celebrity Big Brother 2011 On 27 August 2011, White was a houseguest on the UK version of Celebrity Big Brother to set a cooking task.
Personal life
White has been married three times. His first wife was Alex McArthur, who was the daughter of a surgeon from BuckinghamshireBuckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, and who worked at his local fishmonger. After a year-long romance, they were married at Chelsea
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
Register Office
Register office
A register office is a British term for a civil registry, a government office and depository where births, deaths and marriages are officially recorded and where you can get officially married, without a religious ceremony...
on 8 June 1988; neither family attended the ceremony.
White then met 21-year-old model Lisa Butcher
Lisa Butcher
Lisa Butcher is an English fashion model and TV presenter.Butcher won British Elles first ELLE's Angels modelling competition in 1987, judged by Marie Helvin, Laraine Ashton and photographer Terry O'Neill...
at a London nightclub. They were engaged within three weeks. White says today that he was so intoxicated by her looks that he forgot to think about her personality. Engaged for two months, Butcher sold the wedding in a £20,000 deal to Hello!
Hello!
Hello is a weekly magazine specializing in celebrity news and human-interest stories, published in the United Kingdom since 1988. Hello is sister magazine to ¡Hola!, the Spanish weekly magazine launched in Spain in 1944...
magazine. The wedding took place at the Brompton Oratory on 15 August 1992, where Albert Roux
Albert Roux
Albert Roux OBE is a French-born restaurateur and chef working in Britain. He and his brother Michel operated Le Gavroche, the first restaurant in the UK to gain three Michelin stars. He helped train a series of chefs that went on to win Michelin stars, and his son, Michel Roux, Jr...
was best man, and Lisa had forgotten to invite his father and brothers. White says he knew the marriage was a mistake when he saw her £3,000 floor-length, backless
Backless dress
A backless dress is a dress designed to expose the wearer's back. A backless dress is most commonly worn on formal occasions or as evening wear or as wedding dresses and can be of any length, from a haltertop to a miniskirt-length to floor-length....
Bruce Oldfield
Bruce Oldfield
Bruce Oldfield OBE is a British fashion designer, best known for his couture occasionwear. He dresses Hollywood actresses, British and International royalty and European aristocracy; famous clients have included Sienna Miller, Barbra Streisand, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Diana Ross, Emmanuelle...
dress with cutaway sides. White told a reporter that she looked dressed to go down the catwalk rather than the aisle. Butcher says of their 15-week marriage: "We went to the Scilly Isles for our honeymoon. On the first day Marco turned to me and said, 'I don't love you.' We spent two miserable days when we didn't speak and he went shark fishing. Then I left." In her one interview about the marriage, Butcher has hinted that something unspeakable happened on the honeymoon: "Something very bad did happen but I'm not going to say what it was. It really wasn't a very pleasant experience for me and my family."
In 1992, White started a relationship with Matilde "Mati" Conejero, the bartender at The Canteen. and went on to have two sons: Luciano (born December 1992), Marco Jr., and a daughter, Mirabelle, born after White retired and the couple had married at the Belvedere on 7 April 2000. At the wedding, Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay
Gordon James Ramsay, OBE is a Scottish chef, television personality and restaurateur. He has been awarded 13 Michelin stars....
turned up with a TV crew having told neither White nor his bride. White and Ramsay have not spoken since. After White became friends with city financier Robin Saunders, Mati wrongly suspected an affair between the two. White and his wife had a fight, after which White spent 14 hours in the cells of Notting Hill
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
police station in January 2005. White and Mati began divorce proceedings in 2007 after she confronted two of his waitresses over affairs and his close relationship with singer/actress Martine McCutcheon
Martine McCutcheon
Martine McCutcheon is an English singer, television personality and Laurence Olivier Award-winning actress. McCutcheon had minor success as one third of the pop group Milan in the early 1990s; however, it was her role as Tiffany Mitchell in BBC's EastEnders that made her a household name in the UK...
.
White has a Japanese assistant called Mr Ishii, who chauffeurs him everywhere, as White does not have a driving licence. White originally met Mr Ishii while he managed the Mirabelle restaurant in Curzon St, Mayfair. The restaurant became available for sale and was quite sought-after, but his relationship with Mr Ishii persuaded the Japanese owners to sell to Marco. In his leisure time, White can be found freshwater fishing and game hunting.
White is a supporter of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
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